


Smurfette's Decision

by RowenaZahnrei



Category: Les Schtroumpfs | The Smurfs
Genre: Books, Disguise, Dungeon, Evil plots, Family, Friendship, Gen, Genie - Freeform, Humans, Lies, Love, Magic, Magic Mirror - Freeform, Mistaken Identity, Secret Identity, Secrets, Smurf Village, Sorceress, Transformation, True Love, Truth, Wedding, Wish, castle - Freeform, false names, kingdom - Freeform, magician, potion, smurfs - Freeform, snake - Freeform, spell, sword - Freeform, venom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-10-19 22:57:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10649814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RowenaZahnrei/pseuds/RowenaZahnrei
Summary: I wrote this story as a present for my sister. When Smurfette runs away Brainy, Hefty, and Clumsy are sent to find her. But, they'll have to go in disguise...This story includes fantastic fanart illustrations by Katie! Thank you! :DCOMPLETE STORY!  Please Review! :D





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Smurfs. Please don't sue me or steal my story. Thanks!
> 
> Note: I wrote this story as a present for my sister when I was about eleven. Other than going through to clean up some grammar/sentence/spacing stuff and dividing it up into chapters, I've left it pretty much the same. Please let me know what you think! :D
> 
> Note II: This story was inspired primarily by one of my sister's favorite Smurfs episodes "The Prince and the Hopper." Lady Xolynda and her pet Nettles (who will show up later) are my own original characters.

Chapter One

"Has anysmurf seen Smurfette?" called Painter as he ran excitedly toward the clearing in the center of Smurf Village. He carried with him several sloppy buckets of colored paint (each impaled with its own brush), his ever-present easel, and a large square of canvas.

"I have been struck with inspiration, and I simply must paint!" he continued, screeching to a halt beside a small gathering of Smurfs. His excitement caused his thick, French accent to be even more pronounced than usual.

"So, paint" said Brainy, unimpressed with Painter's ebullient display of enthusiasm. "What do you need Smurfette for?"

Painter grinned broadly. 

"She is to be my model! The smurfiest vision in all of Smurfdom!"

Brainy straightened, puffing out his chest pompously as if getting ready to deliver a lecture. 

"Well, I'm sorry Painter, but Smurfette's not here. Papa Smurf asked for a volunteer to take a fresh batch of his special egg-laying spell to Prince Theodore, and Smurfette asked to go. She shouldn't be back for a while yet."

Painter seemed to deflate on the spot. 

"But, then, what shall I paint? Without the presence of the lovely Smurfette, I cannot work! My inspiration, she has fled!"

"I have a suggestion, Painter," said Brainy, straightening his thick, black-rimmed glasses. "If you want to paint the portrait of a truly inspirational Smurf, then why not paint me, Brainy Smurf, possessor of the most inspirational brain in the history of Smurfdom!"

Painter growled, his face clenching in anger. 

"Oh, Brainy Smurf, sometimes you make me so mad!"

He came forward and, dropping his easel, gave Brainy a swift, sharp kick in the pants. 

Brainy went flying into the air, followed closely by a startled yelp. He landed on his head some feet outside the village. Rolling slowly to an upright sitting position, Brainy moaned glumly and straightened his glasses.

"Well, it was only a suggestion," he grumped.

At that moment, a cheerfully whistled Smurf tune wafted its way to Brainy's blue ears. Recognizing the whistle as Papa Smurf's, Brainy jumped to his feet, brushing the dust and clinging grass from his white pants and floppy cap. He didn't want Papa Smurf to find him in such an undignified state. 

Before he had quite finished beating at his knees, Papa Smurf appeared from out of the forest, his rucksack stuffed with fresh herbs for his laboratory and a sturdy hiking stick in his hand.

"Good afternoon, Brainy," said Papa Smurf with a large smile. "And, what are you doing out here? I thought I'd told you to take care of the village."

"Well, I was, Papa Smurf," said Brainy, thinking fast. "I came out here only just now, to wait for you." He didn't want to let Papa Smurf know that he had, once again, been unceremoniously tossed out of the village by an irate fellow Smurf. It was far too embarrassing.

Papa Smurf looked concerned. 

"Why, is something wrong?"

Brainy was startled. 

"What? Oh, no Papa Smurf! I just wanted to meet you, that's all."

He saw Papa Smurf steal a suspicious glance at his hat and his knees. Brainy felt his insides freeze up. He knew! He prayed he wouldn't say anything.

"Well, that was a very smurfy thought, Brainy," Papa Smurf said, smiling again - this time with kind understanding. 

The breath Brainy had been holding came out in a whoosh of pure relief.

"Oh, well, it was a kind of smurf of the moment kind of thing, you know, Papa Smurf."

Papa Smurf nodded, then gestured for Brainy to accompany him back to the village. 

Brainy trotted eagerly along beside him.

"Has Smurfette returned from Prince Theodore's kingdom yet?" asked Papa Smurf.

"No, not yet," Brainy replied. "I've been watching out for Feathers all day. She should be back soon, though."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the shadow of a large, long-necked bird flew across their path. 

Brainy looked up.

"See, Papa Smurf," he said, "there she is now!"

He and Papa Smurf rushed to meet the gracefully landing crane and the golden-haired Smurfette perched comfortably on its broad, feathery back. As they approached, a small crowd of Smurfs came out to join them.

"Welcome back, Smurfette!" they chorused happily.

"Hi, Feathers!" came a small voice, and Natural Smurfling detached his small frame from the crowd. 

Feathers lowered its long neck for Nat to stroke, and he winked at the large bird. 

"You come with me after this and I'll get you a smurfy treat, all right?"

Feathers nodded conspiratorially.

While Nat was talking to the kindly crane, Smurfette slipped off its back.

"Here's the empty flask, Papa Smurf," she said, rather listlessly it seemed. "Theo sends his everlasting gratitude."

"Theo is a good friend," said Papa Smurf, looking at the slouching young Smurfette with concerned eyes. "Smurfette," he said, "is there something the matter?"

Smurfette gave a small start, then seemed to droop even further. 

"No, Papa Smurf. I'm fine. Everything's just smurfy!"

Suddenly, to everysmurf's surprise, Smurfette burst into a flood of tears. She pushed through the concerned crowd and ran for her mushroom house, leaping over her flower patch as she went. 

The gathered Smurfs all gave a small jump at the sound of her door slamming behind her.

"Oh my," said Papa Smurf. "I wonder what could possibly be the matter."

"Do you think something's wrong with Prince Theodore, Papa Smurf?" asked Brainy in a rather less pretentious tone than usual.

Papa Smurf knitted his eyebrows. 

"I don't know. I've never seen Smurfette this upset before."

Papa Smurf left the crowd of confused Smurfs and knocked softly on Smurfette's door.

"Smurfette?" he asked cautiously. "May I come in?"

The muffled sobs within grew louder. 

Papa Smurf found himself at something of a loss. Smurfette was the only female Smurf in the village - besides Sassette, but she was still a Smurfling. Smurfette had not been one of Papa Smurf's original group, rather the malicious failed wizard, Gargamel, had created her to spread discord and enmity among his little Smurfs. In those days, she'd had short, raven black hair. However, Smurfette had proved to have such a kind, smurfy nature that Papa Smurf had adopted her into the village, transforming her into a true, blue Smurf. But, despite all the years he'd now known her, despite her bravery and sweetness, intelligence and kindness, her reactions to certain things still confused him at times and he found himself unsure as to how to help her.

"Are you all right, Smurfette?" he asked in as gentle a voice as he could manage.

There were a few loud sniffles, then a louder blow. After a brief pause, during which Papa Smurf considered that it might be best if he left, Smurfette's door opened a small crack. When the glittering eye behind it saw Papa Smurf was alone, the door opened wide enough to let him in.

Papa Smurf entered cautiously, to see Smurfette had flung herself over her bed, her long golden hair flying around her in a mad tangle. Her eyes were puffy and her nose runny. She clutched a limp handkerchief. Papa Smurf was startled by her appearance.

"Dear Smurfette!" he cried, sitting beside her on the bed. "Please, tell me what's wrong! How can I help"

Smurfette sobbed a few times, then blew hard into her damp handkerchief. A few shaky breaths later, she was able to speak.

"Oh, Papa Smurf," she cried. "I don't know what's wrong with me"

Papa Smurf felt more concerned than ever. 

"What do you mean?"

Smurfette sniffled again. 

"Well, this morning I was so happy to go visit dear Prince Theodore! He is surely the smurfiest human in all the world! He's so handsome and brave, and he has such large, dreamy eyes! But, when I got to his castle, I saw it was all decorated, as if for a party. It was such a beautiful sight, Papa Smurf! There were flowers and garlands everywhere! When Feathers landed outside Theo's window and he let me in, he was so happy to see me! We spent the smurfiest half hour, just talking and laughing about recent events. Then, I asked what all the flowers and decorations were for. He was so excited! He told me he had a new fiancée, one who truly loved him this time, not like that horrible Lady Jasmine who only wanted to marry him for his money! This was the Lady Xolynda. She comes from a very distant kingdom across the sea. They met at a ball seven months ago and they've been keeping in touch by letter since then. Today is the day Lady Xolynda is coming to visit, and tomorrow she and Theo plan to announce their engagement to the whole kingdom!"

"But, Smurfette, this sounds like wonderful news," said Papa Smurf. "Why, then, are you so sad?"

Smurfette started to sob again. 

"I-I don't know, Papa Smurf! I know I should be happy for Theodore! He's always wanted to marry a smurfy girl like Xolynda. But, I'm not! When he told me, it was like all the happiness had been smurfed right out of me! I tried to smile and laugh, for his sake, but inside I felt so horrible! He was so excited about Xolynda's visit, though, that he didn't notice. I think I would have smurfed if he had! Oh, Papa Smurf!" 

She collapsed into tears again, burying her face in her pillow.

Papa Smurf patted her golden head gently. He felt now that he understood exactly what was bothering her. 

"There, there, Smurfette. There's nothing wrong with you."

Smurfette sniffled messily against her arm, then looked up. 

"There isn't?"

Papa Smurf favored her with a small smile. 

"No. It's just that, I think you care more for Prince Theodore than you realized. When you heard he was planning to get married, perhaps you feared that he would no longer care for you."

Smurfette sat up, eyes wide. 

"Do you really think that's all, Papa Smurf?"

Papa Smurf chuckled behind his bushy, white beard. 

"Smurfette, our friends don't stop caring for us just because they've fallen in love. There are many different kinds of love, more than enough to go around. Theodore thinks of you as a dear friend, just as you think of him. He will never stop caring for you, or valuing your friendship. After all, you were the one who rescued him from the curse the evil magician Morlock used to turn him into a frog and take over his kingdom!"

Smurfette gave a small, distant smile. 

"Yes, I suppose I did. I kissed his dear little frog face, then suddenly, there he stood, tall and handsome and ever so determined. Theo said then that I was the one who loved him the most. He said he wished I were human too." 

Her voice was as distant as her smile. Suddenly, Papa Smurf was concerned again. Perhaps, Smurfette's love for Theodore ran even deeper than he'd thought…

"I would recommend that you get some sleep, Smurfette," Papa Smurf advised, a bit anxiously. "You've had a long journey and an emotional day. You should feel much smurfier after a long night's rest."

Smurfette nodded, rather absently. She seemed preoccupied by her thoughts. 

"Yes, Papa Smurf," she said. "Thank you for your help."

After several concerned backward glances, Papa Smurf left Smurfette alone with her memories and dreams.

To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Papa Smurf's little Smurfs accosted him with questions the moment he stepped outside Smurfette's house.

"How is she, Papa Smurf?"

"What's wrong? Is Prince Theodore all right?"

"What's wrong with Smurfette, Papa Smurf?"

"Has that unsmurfy Morlock returned?"

"Will she be all right in time for dinner? I'm baking her favorite: Greedy's Smurftacular Smurfberry Surprise!"

"Would she feel smurfier if she had her portrait painted, Papa Smurf?"

Papa Smurf raised his hands to stem the tide of inquiry. 

"Please, my little Smurfs! Please!" he shouted over the din. 

Slowly, the concerned noise died down. 

"Smurfette has just had a long day," he said. "She needs a good night's sleep. She should be her old smurfy self by tomorrow. There's nothing wrong with Prince Theodore and Morlock is still safely locked up in Theodore's dungeon. There's nothing to worry about. So, please, all of you, continue about your business and don't worry about Smurfette. She just needs to be alone for a while."

Gradually, the concerned crowd dispersed. Soon, only three Smurfs remained.

"Are you certain that's all it is, Papa Smurf" asked Hefty. "She's just tired from her trip?"

"Well—" Papa Smurf started.

"I've never known Smurfette to get that emotional just because she was a bit fatigued," Brainy added knowledgeably. "It usually takes a great deal to get her that upset, like the time Jokey fell overboard from Dreamy's ship and we all thought he'd smurfed the bucket."

"Um, yeah!" Clumsy agreed. "That's right, Papa Smurf. If it's one thing Smurfette's not, that's a crybaby!"

Confronted with the unconvinced, expectant looks from his little Smurfs, Papa Smurf broke down. 

"All right, I'll tell you what's really the matter. But, I don't want the whole village to know, so I don't want any of you to reveal what I am about to tell you. This especially goes for you, Brainy."

Brainy looked shocked behind his glasses. 

Hefty seemed to be chuckling behind his hand, but he might have been yawning.

"What!" Brainy exclaimed. "Why me, Papa Smurf?"

"What's bothering her is very personal, and if she knew I'd told anysmurf, she would likely be very upset. I know how you like to talk, Brainy, and I'm warning you not to tell anysmurf what I'm about to say."

Brainy nodded, chastised. 

"Yes, Papa Smurf."

Papa Smurf gestured for the three young Smurfs to follow him.

"Come with me to my lab, I'll tell you there."

*******

Once in his lab, Papa Smurf had the three Smurfs take a seat at his long, wooden table. He leaned forward and spoke rather conspiratorially. The concerned Smurfs leaned forward as well, in order to hear him better.

"My little Smurfs, I am very concerned about Smurfette."

Hefty's eyes widened. 

"Why, Papa Smurf? What's wrong?"

Papa Smurf sighed, then sat back. 

"I fear Smurfette may be in love with Prince Theodore."

"What!" the three young Smurfs chorused, equally aghast.

"But, Papa Smurf," exclaimed Brainy. "Prince Theodore is a human! How could she be in love with him?"

"Well," Hefty pointed out, "Handy's in love with that mermaid, Marina."

"But that's different," Brainy objected. "They're both magical beings! And, at least they're the same size! But, a Smurf and a human? It's unthinkable!"

Papa Smurf shook his head. 

"She's heard today that Prince Theodore is going to announce his engagement to the Lady Xolynda tomorrow. She's very upset. I don't think she realized herself until this moment how deeply she cared for Theo." He sighed. "I must admit, I fear I am at a loss as to how to deal with this situation."

Brainy stared at him, his eyes, already magnified by his glasses, at least twice as large as usual. 

"You, Papa Smurf?" he asked, as if unable to believe his ears.

Papa Smurf made a sad attempt at a chuckle. 

"Yes, Brainy. If I'm not mistaken, poor Smurfette is in for a great deal of pain. I think she realizes a relationship between herself and Theo is utterly impossible, but still-"

Just then, he was interrupted by his front door bursting open, followed closely by a panting Smurf with a hoe.

"Farmer Smurf! What's wrong?" Papa Smurf exclaimed. Farmer never left his beloved fields before sunset without very good reason.

"Papa Smurf!" Farmer panted. He'd obviously run there all the way from his fields. "Gourdy's gone missing!

"Gourdy? Your genie?"

"Yes, Papa Smurf! I can't find him anywhere! I checked my house, the fields, I even went to the melon patch and rubbed his gourd. But he's gone, vanished!"

Papa Smurf stood, concerned. 

"Where do you think he might have gone? Have you said anything to upset him lately? We all know how desperate he is to please."

Farmer sighed deeply. 

"I know the little fellow's a bit of a pest, but since he's stopped trying to grant me wishes, he's been almost a help to me in the fields. I thought we were becoming good friends. I can't think where he's gone!"

Papa Smurf looked thoughtful. 

"This is very strange. Do you think he might have been smurfnapped?"

"But, who would want Gourdy?" Farmer asked. "He never gets anything right!"

"Yes," Papa Smurf admitted, "but only we know that. A genie is a very highly prized being. If some unscrupulous person—" 

Papa Smurf's head snapped up.

"Farmer, where did you see him last?"

Farmer thought hard. 

"Well, the last I saw of him he was headin' toward the house in search of a trowel. He wanted to help me smurf some weeds from the smurfberry patch. But, when he didn't return, I started to get worried."

Papa Smurf looked worried himself. 

"Then, we must start a search. I wouldn't like to think what could happen if Gourdy's magic fell into the wrong hands. A genie's magic is so deep and so powerful, none of my spells can counteract it."

Brainy swallowed nervously.

"We must organize a search party," said Papa Smurf, "and comb every inch of the village. Also, we must send a scout party to Gargamel's hovel. If he's not there, we'll try Balthazar's castle or Clorhydris's."

The five Smurfs rushed from Papa Smurf's house and right into—

"Gourdy!" Farmer exclaimed. "Where in smurfness have you been?"

Papa Smurf was deeply relieved. From the day Gourdy's gourd had appeared in Farmer's melon patch, the little genie's presence had made him very nervous. He was such a kind, well-meaning soul, though, that he had decided to allow him to stay. Now, he was starting to rethink that previous decision. The power of a genie, in the wrong hands, could be disastrous to the Smurfs.

"Oh, Master!" the tiny genie said happily. At his full height, he barely reached Farmer's shoulder, even with his turban. "I meant to get back to you, but I guess I forgot."

"What in smurfnation are you talking about, Gourdy?"

"A wish, Master, a wish! One of your friends needed me to grant them a wish. She was so upset, I couldn't refuse her. And, it's been such a long time since I've had a chance to really stretch my powers, I couldn't resist. I hope you're not mad I was gone so long."

Farmer turned a confused glance to Papa Smurf. 

"Do you know what he's smurfing about, Papa Smurf?" he asked.

Papa Smurf was so upset, he ignored the question. Brushing past Farmer, Brainy, Clumsy, and Hefty, he grasped the little genie by the shoulders and demanded, "Who did you grant this wish for, Gourdy?"

Taken aback by the vehemence of Papa Smurf's question, Gourdy stuttered, "S-Smurfette."

"And, what was her wish?"

"Oh, erm, well, she asked me not to tell anyone."

Papa Smurf glared at him, a dangerous glint in his eye. 

"Gourdy..." He stretched the name as though it were taffy.

The tiny genie raised his hands in defense against the glare. 

"All right, all right! I'll tell you! Geesh! Just, let go of me, will you? You're rumpling my tunic."

Papa Smurf loosened his grip and Gourdy stepped back to a safe distance. Straightening his tunic, he said, "Well, when she rubbed my gourd she was in a terrible state. I know Master doesn't like me granting wishes, but she was so upset! So, when she asked me to make her human and send her to Prince Theodore's kingdom, I couldn't refuse her."

"She asked you to _what_!" the gathered Smurfs exclaimed, completely shocked.

Gourdy was starting to look sheepish. 

"Well, she asked me to make her human and send her to Prince Theodore's kingdom. Gee, I didn't think you'd all get so mad! I thought it was a rather silly wish myself."

"How could I not have seen her?" Farmer berated himself. "I was in the neighboring smurfberry patch the whole time! And, what would make her do such a thing!"

Papa Smurf put a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

"It isn't your fault, Farmer. I should have expected something like this. Love can make someone act in very strange ways."

"Love?" asked Farmer. "Smurfette's in love?"

Papa Smurf sighed. 

"I'm afraid so. With Prince Theodore."

"Oh, my smurfness!" Farmer exclaimed.

"Don't tell anyone Farmer," Papa Smurf warned. "This must be a secret between just us six. If we manage to get Smurfette back safely, she'll never be able to live it down if she finds the whole village knows what she's done."

"But, how are we going to get her back, Papa Smurf?" asked Brainy. "How will we even recognize her?"

"First," said Papa Smurf, "we must know more about the nature of this wish. Gourdy?"

Gourdy shuffled his feet in their curly-toed shoes. 

"It's not really that big of a deal," he said. "Just your basic, run of the mill transfiguration wish. And, like all wishes concerning love, it's got plenty of conditions attached."

"What do you mean?" asked Papa Smurf.

"Well, for one thing, the Prince has to recognize her, and tell her so, before midnight tomorrow. And, she can't tell him who she is outright. He has to guess it for himself. If he doesn't, then Smurfette will change back into a Smurf at the stroke of midnight."

"And, if he does?" asked Hefty.

"Well, then she remains a human for all time, of course," Gourdy said, as if this were common knowledge.

"But, Papa Smurf!" exclaimed Brainy. "This is horrible! Theodore's certain to recognize her for what she is the moment she opens her mouth! Who else besides a Smurf would use the word 'smurf' as often as possible and in every part of speech?"

"Brainy's right for once!" Hefty agreed. Brainy shot him a superior glare which Hefty ignored. "Theo's in love with Lady Xolynda! He wouldn't marry Smurfette! If we don't get to her before Theo recognizes her, she'll be stuck as a human for the rest of her life!"

"And," Brainy added, his voice wavering slightly with concern, "humans have a considerably shorter life span than Smurfs!"

At this sobering thought, a disturbing hush fell over the small group. 

Papa Smurf turned to Gourdy, who was now looking even smaller and more sheepish than he had before.

"Gourdy, is there any way to reverse this wish?"

Gourdy made large swirls in the dust before him with his shoe. He didn't look up at Papa Smurf. 

"Not unless she rubs my gourd and wishes to be a Smurf again before midnight tomorrow. She's not my Master. If she doesn't rub my gourd, I can't do anything for her."

"Could I wish she was a Smurf again?" Farmer asked. 

Gourdy looked even more uncomfortable.

"Well, not really, Master. This is her wish. Another's wish can't interfere with it. Even yours, I'm afraid."

Clumsy looked to be on the point of tears. 

Hefty pounded his fist angrily into his palm. 

"I can't just take this smurfing down. What are we going to do, Papa Smurf?"

Papa Smurf turned to Farmer. 

"Farmer, I need you to find Nat and tell him to bring Feathers to the clearing by the Great Oak. Then, you may go back to your fields with Gourdy."

"Yes, Papa Smurf," said Farmer, and he raced away into the distance.

"Brainy, Clumsy, Hefty, come with me."

He led them into his lab, where he started flipping through the worn pages of his largest spell book.

"There's only one way we can get to Smurfette without Prince Theodore becoming suspicious about her true identity," he said.

Brainy looked shocked. 

"You don't mean—!"

Papa Smurf nodded soberly. 

"Yes, I do."

"But, Papa Smurf! Be reasonable! Surely you don't expect me to—"

"I have to, Brainy. You three are the only Smurfs who know everything about this situation. You know I wouldn't ask you to do this if it wasn't absosmurfly necessary."

"Do what?" asked Hefty, annoyed that he hadn't been able to figure out what was going on as quickly as Brainy apparently had. "What's smurfing on?"

"Um, yeah," Clumsy added. "What are you two talking about?"

Papa Smurf sighed and turned back to his spell book. 

"You tell them, Brainy."

Brainy turned his nervous gaze to his friends. 

"If we go to Theodore's castle as we are and try to find Smurfette, the prince will realize there's something different about her. If he should catch us with her, or spot us hiding from him, he would start to get suspicious. There are very few humans who know about our existence, Theodore knows that. After all, he's one of them! If he realizes Smurfette knows us, he'll naturally wonder why. He'll want to know who she is, where she's from. And, Theodore's smart. We won't be able to fool him for long. Therefore," Brainy swallowed, "we can't go into the castle as Smurfs."

"Uh, what do you mean, Brainy?" asked Clumsy, confused. "If we're not going as Smurfs, what are we going as?"

Brainy looked to Papa Smurf, who nodded. 

Brainy swallowed again. 

"Humans," he said.

Hefty looked scandalized. 

"What!" he exclaimed. "You can't be serious, Papa Smurf! Humans!"

Papa Smurf sighed. 

"I'm sorry, my little Smurfs, but it's the only way to get her back safely without rousing suspicion. You could pretend to be her brothers, or her personal guards. Noble ladies do not travel unescorted, and if Smurfette has set her sights on marrying Prince Theodore, she must pretend to be of noble birth. Your presence there as humans should help to stop questions, rather than start them."

Hefty sighed. 

"You're right, Papa Smurf" he admitted. "But, I still don't like it."

"You don't have to like it, Hefty. Just remember, you're all doing this for Smurfette's sake. She's very upset right now, she doesn't know what she's doing. We can't blame her for making such a foolish wish, we can only help her see reason. Ah, here it is," he said, smoothing down the page he'd been looking for. "Come closer, you three."

"Surely, you're not going to change us in here, Papa Smurf," said Brainy incredulously. "Why, we'd break the roof! Not to mention all the talk it would cause in the village!"

"No, Brainy. I'm going to give you a copy of the chant. When you get near Prince Theodore's castle, I want you to find a safe, out of the way place and perform this spell at once."

He turned to his shelf of wizarding supplies and started emptying containers into a small, leather satchel. When he'd finished, he gave the bag a good shake, then handed it over to Brainy, along with a rolled up sheet of parchment. 

"This spell should last as long as Smurfette's wish, until midnight tomorrow. Just follow the instructions on the parchment, Brainy, and all should be well."

Brainy nodded.

"Papa Smurf!" came Farmer's voice from outside. "Feathers is all ready and smurfing to go."

"Very good, Farmer. Thank you for your help. Just remember to smurf a closer eye on Gourdy from now on."

"I will, Papa Smurf, you can smurf on that!"

Papa Smurf turned back to the three nervous Smurfs with him. 

"All right" he said. "It's time to go. Good luck, my little Smurfs! Please bring our Smurfette back to us safely."

The three Smurfs nodded bravely. 

"We will, Papa Smurf."

Papa Smurf watched them go with a heavy heart. This unorthodox plan was an admittedly desperate measure, but surely, this was a desperate time.

To Be Continued...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features two fantastic illustrations sent to me by a reader. Thank you Katie! :D

Chapter Three

The Smurfs stayed quiet all the way to Prince Theodore's castle. This nervous behavior, quite uncharacteristic for the usually cheerful Smurfs, made Feathers a bit uneasy. The intelligent bird could tell this mission was out of the ordinary.

When they were in sight of the castle turrets, Brainy spoke up.

"Land over there in the forest, Feathers," he said. "That's where we'll be getting off."

Feathers looked back at him curiously, but did as he said. Once they'd slid off the friendly crane's back, bid it thanks, and watched it fly away, Brainy cleared his throat.

"All right, everysmurf, gather round."

Hefty and Clumsy came closer. 

"Are you sure we have to smurf through with this, Brainy?" Hefty asked.

"Yes," Brainy stated. "Papa Smurf wouldn't have asked us to do such a thing if it wasn't absosmurfly necessary. Transfiguration is very dangerous"

"Great," Hefty muttered sotto voce to Clumsy. "Now he tells us."

"Are you both ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be, I suppose," Hefty grumbled.

"Uh, I'm ready, Brainy," said Clumsy. "I'm actually kinda excited, you know? I think it'll be kinda smurfy to try out being something different for a change. And, we're going to help Smurfette. That can't be bad, can it?"

"Oh, let's just smurf on with this," said Hefty bad temperedly. He didn't want to admit that he was scared.

"All right," said Brainy, unrolling the parchment. "Oh," he said after reading for a few moments. "Well, Papa Smurf's already done most of the work for me. He mixed the herbs in the satchel and when he shook it, he magically added some water. It's taken us about forty minutes or so to smurf from the village to here, so it's steeped long enough. All we really have to do is drink the potion and smurf the chant."

"Uh, Brainy," said Hefty. 

Brainy looked up from the parchment.

"Yes, Hefty?"

"If we don't want Prince Theodore to figure out who we are, we're going to have to watch how we talk. We can't say 'smurf', and I don't really think we should use our real names."

Brainy nodded. 

"That is a very good observation, Hefty," he said. "In fact, I was going to point out those very things as soon as we'd finished this spell."

Hefty leaned over to Clumsy. 

"Right," he whispered sarcastically. "I'll bet he was."

Brainy went on, oblivious. 

"Right, then. I'll smurf—" Hefty cleared his throat. Brainy quickly corrected himself, "—take the first drink." 

He lifted the satchel and took a long swig.

"Gah!" he exclaimed after he'd swallowed. "This stuff is terrible! All right, Clumsy, you have a go."

When the satchel was empty, Brainy unrolled the parchment again and said, "All right, you Smurfs, repeat after me.

_"Ostrich feathers, fava beans,  
Turn us three Smurfs into human beings!"_

"Er, Brainy," asked Hefty.

"Yes, Hefty?"

"Why are these chants always so stupid? I mean, this one doesn't even rhyme!"

"Never mind that, just repeat it. The important thing is that it works."

As soon as Hefty and Clumsy had finished speaking the words, something very strange seemed to happen to the forest. It started to shrink, extremely rapidly. Clumsy watched as the tall sapling he was standing next to diminished until it was completely hidden by the even taller grass that surrounded it. By the time it was over, he was so disoriented he hardly knew where he was.

"Gosh!" he commented. "That was the strangest thing I've ever smurfed through!"

There was a low moan from somewhere behind him, then a loud thump.

"Oh, gee, Brainy! Are you all right?"

It was Hefty's voice, but look as he might, Clumsy couldn't see Hefty anywhere. Or Brainy for that matter. 

Then, he looked down. The ground was miles and miles away! 

Overcome by a strange sense of vertigo, Clumsy sat down heavily on the grass. He wasn't as dizzy down there.

"Oop, now Clumsy's fallen too!" came Hefty's voice. "At least, I think it's Clumsy."

There was a loud crackling, brushing sound from behind the bush next to him. Clumsy watched with interest as a powerfully built young man with auburn hair burst through the underbrush and crouched beside him. He wore plain, brown human clothes with soft, leather boots. 

"You're Clumsy, aren't you?" he asked with Hefty's gruff voice, looking at him curiously.

"Um, yeah, I suppose so, Hefty," said Clumsy. "Uh, did you see how very far down the ground was?" He laughed. "It made me kinda dizzy."

The young man nodded. 

"Yeah, you're Clumsy all right."

"Of course he's Clumsy! Who else would he be?" came Brainy's more reedy voice. He sounded annoyed. 

Clumsy turned his head. 

Staggering toward them on unsteady legs was another young man. This one wore thick glasses and sported hair so red it was almost orange. He looked noticeably scrawnier than the muscular youth with the auburn hair, but was dressed the same way. 

Pausing for a moment, he leaned against a tree with a small moan.

"This unnatural height is going to take some getting used to," he observed, swaying ever so slightly. "It's one thing to ride on Feathers, but it's quite another to have to navigate on such long legs so far above the ground. It's almost like smurfing on stilts!"

"Yeah. I hear ya, Brainy," Clumsy agreed, leaning heavily against Hefty as he made his awkward way to his feet.

Hefty scowled.

"Oh, I don't see what you two are complaining about," he said. "It's not that bad."

Clumsy giggled. 

"Just look at you two!" he said. "Gee, I wonder what I look like!"

"Well, it's kind of hard to say..." Hefty frowned. "I mean, all humans look alike. Not like us Smurfs."

"You've got yellow hair, if that's any help," said Brainy. "What about me?"

"Yours is red. Really, really red! Hefty's is sorta reddish-brown."

Hefty reached up to touch his hair, trying to pull the short strands near enough to his eye to get a look at them.

"Well," Brainy grumped, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm sure there'll be plenty of mirrors at the castle. Then we can all see what fools we look."

"Wait a minute, Brainy," said Hefty, giving up on catching a glimpse of his hair. "How are we going to pretend to be Smurfette's escorts if we haven't got any armor?"

Brainy looked smug. Taking a few cautious steps away from his tree, he raised his hands. Wriggling his fingers as he'd often seen Papa Smurf do, he recited:

_"Great big butterflies on afternoon flights,  
Give us the accouterments of gallant knights!"_

Within five seconds, the three former Smurfs were arrayed in the finest armor, complete with helmets, swords, and a shield apiece.

Brainy immediately sagged. 

"Ooph!" he grunted. "I never knew armor was so heavy!"

Clumsy nodded, with some difficulty because of his helmet.

"Oh, stop being such Smurflings," Hefty rebuked them. "It's not all that bad. Come on, let's get to the castle before the sun starts to go down."

"Er..." said Clumsy, "what are we gonna call ourselves?"

Hefty stopped in his tracks.

Brainy stopped trying to bend his knee in its new casing of heavy armor.

"Oh, yeah," said Hefty. "What are some smurfy human names?"

"I don't know," Brainy pouted, upset that he hadn't remembered before Clumsy and frustrated because he couldn't move as gracefully as Hefty in his armor. "I don't know that many humans. Do you?"

"Well, I think we should stay as close to our real names as possible, just in case we forget."

"I wouldn't forget," said Brainy pompously.

Hefty sighed, exasperated. 

"Brainy, can't you drop this 'I'm better than you' act for just this once? This is serious!"

"You think I don't realize that?" Brainy shouted back angrily. "Besides, it's not an act. It's the truth!"

Hefty's eyes flashed behind his helmet. 

"Brainy..." he growled.

"Sir Clement," Clumsy announced brightly.

His two angry companions turned to him, confused. 

"What did you say, Clumsy?" asked Brainy.

"I think that's a smurfy - I'm sorry - a nice name, don't you?"

"You think what's a nice name?" snapped Hefty.

"Sir Clement. You know, like what they call nice weather, like 'The weather certainly is clement this morning'."

"All right," said Brainy. "So Clumsy's Sir Clement. I suppose it fits. Now, what about me and Hefty?"

"Um, well, when I was out collecting rocks for my rock collection one morning, I saw two shepherd boys on the road. One of them was named Harold and the other was named Brian. What do you think of those names?"

Hefty looked pleased. 

"I like Harold. Sir Harold. Has a nice ring to it."

"I suppose Sir Brian's not that bad," Brainy observed grudgingly. Then he brightened. "Hey, if you switch the i and the a, it'll spell brain!"

Hefty shot him a look, then straightened. 

"All right then, it's settled. I'm Sir Harold, Clumsy's Sir Clement, and you're Sir Brian."

"Good," said Brainy. "Now, let's sm— I mean, go - to the castle before we're too late to do any good!"

Hefty charged off at once, as if his armor weighed nothing more than a silken cloak. Clumsy, and especially Brainy, were having a much tougher time of it.

"Don't you think we should slow down a little?" Brainy gasped, struggling just to put one foot in front of the other.

"Oh, come on, Brainy, stop your winging." Hefty smirked, speaking easily without even the trace of a pant. "You stuck-up intellectual types need more exercise if you ask me."

Brainy scowled, but said no more until they reached the drawbridge to Prince Theodore's castle.

To Be Continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Who goes there!"

"State your business!"

Two rough voices shouted at the disguised Smurfs from the main entrance to the castle, stopping them in their tracks. They looked up, across the drawbridge, to see two guards with long spears in their hands stationed on either side of a truly enormous door.

"Well?" one of the guards prompted impatiently. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongues?"

Hefty glanced at Brainy and Clumsy. Both were gasping for breath after their short walk to the castle in heavy armor. Hefty shook his head disdainfully, realizing it was up to him to state their business.

"Um, hi there!" he shouted back. 

The two guards looked at each other in amusement.

"Who are you!" shouted the guard to the right of the door.

"We are Sir Harold, Sir Clement, and Sir Brai— I mean, Brian."

"Very nice," said the other guard, clearly unimpressed. "And, what are you doing here?"

"We've come to share in the banquet Prince Theodore is having in honor of his fiancée. We are the escort of one of the sm— I mean, fair ladies that was invited."

"That so?" 

The guards seemed to take the questioning process in turns.

"Then, where's the lady you're escorting?"

Hefty thought fast. 

"Oh, well, she arrived ahead of us, we think."

"You think? What kind of escort are you?"

"Well, this is our first assignment," Hefty replied. "We sort of lost her."

The two guards laughed so hard they nearly fell off the drawbridge.

"Well, I must admit that's a new one! I'm almost tempted to let you in!" the one on the right shouted, once he'd recovered from his laughing fit.

"Yeah!" shouted the other one. "State the name of your fair lady. If she's on our guest list, we'll let you in!"

The three disguised Smurfs froze.

"Help!" Hefty squeaked out the corner of his mouth.

Brainy stepped forward and flipped up his helmet's visor, clearly intending to seem impressive. But, after their difficult walk, he was still quite breathless and his sweaty face was nearly as red as his hair.

"Well," he said, rather hoarsely. "Smurfette's name is surely not going to be on their list. We've either got to make up a name or tell them we've forgotten hers. They think we're daft as it is, maybe they'll let us in anyway."

Hefty looked to Clumsy, who was still puffing under his helmet, and scowled. Completely unable to think up any good human names, Hefty shouted back, "It seems we've forgotten her name, too!"

The guards redoubled their laughter.

"You three really are idiots, aren't you?" shouted the one on the left, between chuckles. "Can you at least describe her?"

Hefty had never felt more helpless or put on the spot. He turned desperate blue eyes to Brainy. 

Brainy took a deep breath before shouting, "She has long, yellow hair and...and..." 

He peered carefully at his fellow Smurfs to see how many details of their former features still remained. He noticed that their eyes were the same vivid blue their skin had been and he took a chance. 

"...and very blue eyes!"

"Yeah!" shouted the guard on the right. "I remember a lady like that. Long, blonde hair. But, she came in a coach with a driver and four guards!"

Brainy spoke quickly, "Yes, that's our party! We were separated on the road! My friend Sir Clement and I have trouble walking in all this armor and we sort of got left behind."

The guards erupted into gales of laughter once more.

"Can you believe these guys?" the one on the left giggled to the one on the right.

"Yeah. I think I do. Though how anyone so hopeless could become a knight is beyond me. They must really be desperate in the Lady Xolynda's kingdom!"

"All right!" the one on the left shouted to the three Smurfs, who had been waiting very nervously while the two guards whispered to one another. "You can come in."

Hefty strode forward at once, but then remembered Clumsy and Brainy. Looking back, he saw them shuffling forward with stiff knees, leaning on one another's shoulders to keep from tripping or falling down. 

Hefty slowed his pace to accommodate them, trying very hard to ignore the derogatory shouts and gales of laughter directed at them by the two guards.

"Oh, put a sm— I mean, sock in it!" he shouted as they finally reached the door. 

The guards laughed harder than ever, even as the portcullis rose, allowing them to shuffle their way inside.

*******

"When can we smurf this blasted armor off?" Brainy hissed to Hefty as they shuffled after a giggling crowd of well-dressed ladies, all bedecked in jewels and pearls, to what they hoped was the main banquet hall.

"I don't think we can," Hefty whispered back. "I've never seen a knight without his armor before, have you?"

Brainy sighed, trying to shuffle his metal-plated legs faster to keep up with Hefty's easy stride. He reached into his helmet to mop his sweating forehead, and discovered his hair was damp.

"Well, surely we don't need these awful helmets! I'm taking mine off."

"No, not yet!" Hefty cried in a hoarse whisper. "We have to wait and see what the other knights do. Then we'll copy them."

Brainy turned his head, with difficulty, at the sound of an exhausted moan behind them—

—just in time to see Sir Clement fall forward.

"Clumsy!"

One or two of the ladies turned to look, then giggled brightly when they saw the knight sprawled on the floor.

"He certainly is!" a raven haired lady with smiling green eyes shouted back, just before she and her friends turned a corner out of sight.

Deciding it was best to ignore them, Brainy jerked himself around and shuffled back toward his fallen friend. 

Despite his best efforts, Hefty got there first.

"Are you all right in there?" he asked, tapping on Clumsy's armor.

"Um, yeah, Hefty," came Clumsy's unmistakable voice. "I guess I tripped. My visor thingy fell down and I couldn't see where I was smurfing - I mean going."

"Here," said Hefty, holding out one gauntleted hand. "Take my hand, I'll pull you up."

Clumsy did, and Hefty heaved him effortlessly to his feet. 

Brainy shook his head in astonishment.

"You know, Sir Harold," he said. "Sometimes you truly amaze me."

Hefty turned to him. 

"Good," he said, striding past him to once more take the lead. 

Brainy scowled under his helmet and jerked himself around again. 

"Come on, Sir Clement," he snapped. "We've got a ways to go yet."

When they finally reached the corner around which the girls had vanished, Clumsy called out, "Um, Hef— I mean, Sir Harold?"

Hefty, already several yards ahead of both Brainy and Clumsy, turned impatiently.

"What is it?"

"I gotta stop, Sir Harold," Clumsy moaned. "My legs can't smurf me a step further."

"Same goes for me..." Brainy panted weakly. "I fear I may collapse."

"Honestly," Hefty said in disgust. "I can't believe what total Smurflings you both are." 

He sighed and looked around the corridor. 

"All right, there's a door just ahead. I'll see if the room is empty, then we can go in there and you two can take off your armor for a while."

The two puffed Smurfs were too puffed to cheer.

"Come on, Clumsy," Brainy said weakly, no longer caring if they were found out. "Just a few more shuffles and we're smurf free."

It took all their willpower to make their aching legs move, but they were able to manage a desperately quick shuffle.

*******

Hefty eased the door open a crack. The sun had just started to set, but enough light still streamed in from the lone window to show him that the room seemed deserted. 

He opened the door a bit wider, then stepped cautiously in.

"Oh!" a voice cried from a shadowed corner.

"Yipe!" Hefty exclaimed, backing away. "Oh, gosh I'm sorry. I didn't see—"

"Wait!"

A young girl with very long blond hair stood up and moved toward him. As she passed through the sunlight, Hefty noticed she had deep blue eyes. Her dun-colored dress didn't look nearly as flashy as those of the girls outside but, since he didn't know much about human fashions, he decided not to ask about it.

"Who are you?" she asked nervously.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, my lady," he said, offering her a slight bow. "My name is Sir Harold. I was looking for Prince Theodore. Do you know where he might be?"

"No, I was just waiting for him here myself." 

The girl peered at him curiously. 

"Your voice sounds familiar to me," she said. "Do I know you?"

The disguised Smurf removed his helmet, revealing a strong face and a head of shaggy auburn hair. 

"I don't believe I've had the pleasure, my lady. But if—"

A very loud, clattering crash resounded in the corridor outside.

"It's astonishing to me," came Brainy's voice, "that you can still be so clumsy, even in this form. Here, hold onto my arm, Sir Clement. I'll help you up."

Hefty winced and and turned just in time to see Clumsy slip and pull Brainy down with him, leaving both of his brave companions flailing helplessly on the floor. 

Hefty sighed. 

"Excuse me, my lady," he said.

The girl watched with amusement as the strong, auburn knight effortlessly lifted the two other knights to their feet. 

The one who had been trying to help the clumsy one quickly ripped off his helmet and blinked his deep blue eyes, looking around blindly.

"Quick, He— Sir Harold," he said frantically. "Look in my helmet. Do you see my glasses in there? Are they all right?"

The auburn knight - Sir Harold, the girl reminded herself - took the helmet from the squinting knight with the flaming red hair and reached inside. After a moment, he pulled out a very familiar looking pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses. 

The girl narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Here you go, Sir Brian," Sir Harold said, pressing the glasses into the blind knight's groping hands. "They're just fine."

With the greatest care, the red-head replaced the heavy, round frames on his nose. 

"Ah, thank you!" he said with genuine gratitude.

The third knight, Sir Clement, was now struggling with his helmet. The spectacled red-head shot a glance at the auburn knight, then went to assist.

"Here you are, Sir Clement," he said, lifting the clumsy knight's helmet to reveal a kind, large-nosed face with big, trusting eyes and ruffled blond hair.

"Gosh, Bra— I mean, Sir Brian. I'm sorry about your glasses."

"It's all right, Sir Clement. No harm done." 

He turned to the girl, who looked quite curious.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, my lady," he said, pompously puffing out his chest. "My friend here is a bit, well, clumsy at times."

His blond friend chucked as though he thought that was a joke. 

"Yup," he said, "that's right!"

That's when it hit her - the reason the three young knights seemed so extraordinarily familiar. 

No, she thought, surely it must be impossible...

Then again, who else could they be?

She strode over to them, a smile stretching slowly across her face. 

"Oh, it's quite all right, Sir Brian," she said. "I don't mind a bit. In fact, you three remind me very strongly of three friends of mine."

"We do?" asked Hefty.

The girl nodded. 

"Yes. In fact, you even sound like them."

"Uh, we do?" asked Clumsy.

The girl nodded. 

"Mm hm. In fact, I'm willing to bet that you are them."

The Smurfs shuffled their feet uncomfortably.

"What makes you say that?" asked Hefty.

The girl's smile turned mischievous. 

"I know, I'll give you a test," she said brightly. "I'll start a quote, and if any of you know the end to it, you have to finish it. All right?"

The three knights nodded, not quite sure what this girl was up to.

The girl theatrically cleared her throat, then took up the pompous stance Brainy always used when lecturing the other Smurfs. Hefty and Clumsy were tempted to giggle, but Brainy didn't seem to realize he was being parodied - at least, not until the girl said:

"Who's the brainiest of them all? When you need a brain, who do you call?"

Clumsy hurried to finish the quotation. 

"Brainy!" he cried enthusiastically.

Brainy stood speechless, his mouth open. 

Hefty laughed.

"So," he said. "You're Smurfette. I should have known. We've been looking for you, you know."

Brainy recovered, then took up a lecturing pose of his own - somewhat hindered by the weight of his armor.

"Papa Smurf is very worried about you," he said in his best scolding voice. "This is by far and away the unsmurfiest thing you have ever done. How could you have smurfed such a foolish wish? Papa Smurf had to send us after you. You see what fools we look!"

"Actually, Brainy," said Smurfette with a small smile. "You're kind of cute as a human. I like your hair."

Brainy stopped scolding and blushed beet red. 

"Really?"

"Never mind that," said Hefty brusquely. "You're coming back to the village with us right now, Smurfette. You have to rub Gourdy's gourd and wish yourself a Smurf again before it's too late!"

"You must be Hefty," said Smurfette. "Clumsy was easy to guess, and so was Brainy because of his glasses. You were harder, though. Until you started being bossy, that is."

"Smurfette, you have to stop this smurfing around. You're smurfing back with us and giving up on this silly Prince Theodore crush of yours. Didn't Gourdy tell you what a dangerous wish you've made?"

"You mean the conditions?" Smurfette asked. "He told me that if Theo didn't recognize me for who I truly was before tomorrow at midnight, I'd change back into a Smurf. Unfortunately, since I didn't specify in my wish that I wanted to be a noble lady, Gourdy sent me here dressed as a peasant girl." 

She looked down at her dun-colored dress with a hint of distaste.

"And, if he does recognize you?"

"Then, I get to stay a human forever! I've always wanted to be a princess, you know."

Brainy stared at her incredulously. 

"And just what in Smurfdom makes you think he'd marry you?" he asked. "He's in love with Lady Xolynda. She's come here all the way from across the sea just to see him. Have you flipped your smurf?"

To the Smurfs' great shame and embarrassment, Smurfette burst into tears.

"Oh, I don't know! I don't know!" she cried. "Before you came, I was sitting in the corner there thinking that maybe I had. But, then I remembered Theodore. He told me he wished he could marry someone like me. He told me that I was the one who loved him best!"

Clumsy stared at her. 

"Gosh, Smurfette," he said. "This really means a lot to you, doesn't it."

Smurfette nodded, then buried her streaming face in her hands, sobbing.

Brainy turned to Hefty. 

"I don't believe it," he whispered. "A hundred Smurfs to choose from, and she goes and picks a human. I don't think I will ever understand Smurfettes."

Hefty nodded. 

"I hear you, Brainy. But, we've still got to help her over this and smurf back to the village before tomorrow night."

Brainy sighed. 

"Hefty," he said, "this may just be our most difficult task yet..."

To Be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: This story was inspired by the Smurfs episode "The Prince and the Hopper." The Lady Xolynda is my own original character and so is Nettles, who is introduced in this chapter.

Chapter Five

Prince Theodore had never felt so happy as he turned his head to view the profile of his beloved fiancée, the Lady Xolynda. Her deep blue eyes reminded him of his good friends the Smurfs, and he admired the way her long, blonde hair was styled, worked into intricate braids and coils by her talented handmaidens. He could hardly believe that such a perfect girl was sitting beside him, holding his hand, that she could actually love him as much as he loved her. But in her letters, which he treasured, she had told him again and again how wonderful she thought he was. 

Sensing his gaze on her cheek, Lady Xolynda turned to face the prince. Theodore's expression melted into a soppy grin as she flashed him a brilliant smile - the one that made her face light up like a candle in the darkness. Then, she turned back to watch the guests, who were laughing, dancing, and eating to their hearts content. There wasn't a glum face among them.

Prince Theodore placed his free hand over his fluttering heart. He hadn't felt like this since he'd met his former fiancée, the Lady Jasmine. He prayed Xolynda wouldn't turn out to be as greedy and duplicitous as she had been. But stealing another glance at her perfect profile, he rejected that fear as ludicrous. Xolynda was different. She would never lie to him.

"You know, Theodore," Xolynda said suddenly. "I would really like to see more of your castle. Do you think you could give me a tour?"

Theodore grinned broadly. 

"Why, of course I could, Xolynda! It would be my pleasure!"

"Well, come on, then!" She smiled, standing and pulling gently on his hand. "Everyone's having so much fun, they won't miss us for a while yet."

Theodore smiled back, then stood and allowed his fiancée to lead him from the noisy hall.

*******

"I can't stand it a moment longer. I'm taking this armor off now, no matter what anyone thinks."

"Close the door, Clumsy," said Hefty. "Go ahead, Brainy. No one will see you now."

Brainy strained to raise his arms, then wiggled his fingers.

_"Change this armor, heavy and cold  
back into more comfortable clothes."_

Clumsy and Brainy sighed with relief as the great weight of their armor lifted from their shoulders. Brainy looked around with a self-satisfied smirk. They were all back in their brown human clothes.

Hefty rolled his eyes.

"Who wrote these awful chants? _Cold_ and _clothes_? Poet would have a smurfattack!"

"Well, don't look at me," said Brainy. "These chants came from Papa Smurf's spell book, and he's had them for ages and ages."

Clumsy chuckled. 

"Gosh," he said. "I feel so light! It's almost like I'm floating!"

Brainy smiled. 

"It is an odd sensation, isn't it?"

Hefty scowled and took the seat Smurfette had vacated in the corner. 

"I don't feel anything," he said.

"So," said Brainy. "What are we going to do now?" He looked around. "Where are we, anyway?"

"We're in Prince Theodore's office," said Smurfette. "Don't you recognize it, Brainy? You must have been here a hundred times."

Brainy looked surprised. 

"It is? I never would have guessed." He crouched down to the carpet and put his ear to the floor. "Ah, I see it now." He stood up again. "That's the problem with being so tall. Everything looks so different from up here, even familiar places look strange." 

He started striding around the room, examining every painting and object.

"Oh!" he said. "I think I've found a mirror. I wonder how I look."

Clumsy, Hefty, and Smurfette came over as he stepped in front of an oval mirror that was hanging on the wall right next to the door.

"Hey!" he exclaimed in surprise. "I look just the same." 

He looked down at his pale, human hands. 

"But, that's not right," he said. "In this mirror, I'm still blue. What's smurfing on here?"

"Let me have a look, Brainy," said Hefty. 

Brainy stepped out of the way.

"Hey, Brainy's right," said Hefty. "What kind of mirror is this?"

Smurfette snapped her fingers. 

"Oh, I know. Prince Theodore once told me that he uses this mirror to see if any of the people who come to call on him are carrying weapons behind their backs. It only shows the truth. Being a Prince is a very dangerous job, after all."

"So that explains it," said Brainy. "This mirror can tell we're Smurfs, even through Papa Smurf's transfiguration spell."

"Quiet!" Hefty exclaimed. "I can hear footsteps outside! I think they're headed this way!"

"But, we're enormous now!" squeaked Brainy frantically. "Where can we possibly hide?"

"Behind this tapestry," said Smurfette, pulling a corner of the tapestry aside to reveal a small nook behind it. "If we press against the wall and try not to breathe too hard, it just might hide us."

Brainy moaned. 

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to be Smurf-sized again!"

"Quiet, Brainy, they've reached the door!"

The disguised Smurfs dashed behind the tapestry. It was a very cramped fit. They really had to squeeze against the wall to make sure the tapestry didn't show any bulges.

They were just in time. No sooner had the tapestry stopped swinging than two people entered the room.

"And, this is my office, Xolynda," came Prince Theodore's voice. He sounded very happy and excited. "This is where I do most of my work."

"Oh, Theo," came a soft, pleasant voice. "It's lovely. What a beautifully carved desk! Oh, and just look at all these books!"

"Do you like books, Xolynda?" asked Theodore, sounding very pleased.

"Oh, yes! You have quite a nice collection. But, what are these tiny ones over here? Why, they're barely the size of my thumb!"

Brainy had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep from gasping. She had found the autographed volumes of Brainy Smurf's Bedtime Stories that he'd given Theodore on his last birthday!

"Oh, those!" said Theodore, a little uneasily. "They're from a friend."

"They're so cute! What's this little blue face on the cover?"

Brainy pressed his hand harder against his mouth. The others were starting to look concerned as well.

"Oh, well that's a picture of one of the characters in the story. They're just a bunch of fairy tales, you know."

"I just adore fairy tales, Theo. Maybe after we're married, you can read some to me? You know that fairy tales are best read out loud."

There was the sound of swishing fabric as Xolynda moved across the room, then a moment of silence.

"Er, what are they doing?" Clumsy whispered.

"I think they're kissing," Hefty whispered back. 

Now Smurfette had to clamp a hand over her mouth.

A sharp rap sounded at the door.

"Who's there?" asked Theodore, sounding rather annoyed.

The hidden Smurfs heard the door opening.

"Your highness," said a gruff voice. "The peasants have come to talk to you about their chickens."

Theodore sighed. 

"What is it this time? Didn't that egg laying spell work?"

"Yes, your highness. Perfectly, as usual. But, I think it's something else."

"Oh, all right. Tell them I'll be right there."

"Yes, your highness."

The door closed again. 

Theodore sounded very apologetic.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but I must see what my people want."

"I understand, my dear," said Xolynda. "I'll be right here when you get back."

There was another brief moment of silence, then the door opened again.

"I shouldn't be long, Xolynda."

"Just go. You don't want to keep them waiting."

The door closed. 

The Smurfs looked at each other uncomfortably. It was very unpleasant being crammed behind the tapestry. They hoped Theodore would be back soon so he could leave again and take Xolynda with him.

They listened to the swish of Xolynda's gown as she paced back and forth across the carpet. After a short while, the rustle stopped.

"Ah, hello my lovely," came Xolynda's voice.

"She must be talking to her reflection," whispered Hefty. "There's no one else here."

"Oh, I wish I could see through this tapestry," whispered Smurfette. "I don't like it back here."

Brainy was about to point out that if she hadn't made her stupid wish, none of them would be back there, but before he could open his mouth, Xolynda spoke again.

"You are a clever thing, aren't you," she was saying. "Mummy loves you, you know that, don't you."

The hidden Smurfs made a face. 

"Ugh," Hefty grunted. "She sounds just like Vanity."

"Now, you know what to do. I have convinced Theodore to move the wedding to tomorrow. He was reluctant, of course, after all, his people didn't even know we were engaged until I forced him to tell them tonight at the feast instead of tomorrow as he'd planned. But, he's such a romantic sap, he'll do anything I say."

The Smurfs looked at each other, eyes wide.

"Oh, poor Theodore!" Smurfette whispered softly.

There was a low hissing sound. 

Xolynda laughed. 

"Yes, that's right!" she said in her silvery voice. "On the night of the wedding, you come to the royal bedchambers and-" 

The Smurfs heard a loud clapping sound, and Xolynda laughed again. 

"I will be Queen in my own right! Then, my pet, we'll see about my slimy brother, Morlock. If he thinks I'll keep my promise to share power with him after Theodore's out of the way, he's got another think coming! No one shares power with Xolynda the Magnificent!" 

Her laugh was like the sound of cracked crystal bells.

The latch of the door gave a twitch. 

Xolynda's laughter stopped abruptly. 

"And tell the guests that the Lady Xolynda and I will be back down in time for the ball," Theodore's voice came from the corridor.

"Quick, Nettles, hide behind the tapestry!" Xolynda whispered. "He's coming!"

The Smurfs froze. 

"Oh, no!" squeaked Smurfette. "What will we do?"

Hefty felt something warm moving over his boots. He gulped, then looked down.

"Oh, my smurfness!" he exclaimed in a strained whisper. "It's a snake!"

Brainy and Clumsy clasped their hands over their mouths, but Smurfette let out a sharp exclamation.

"Oh!" 

Brainy immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, but it was already too late.

Theodore had come into the room at the exact moment Hefty noticed the snake slithering over his feet.

"Well, my sweet Xolynda, I'm back!" he'd said, sounding very relieved. "Did you miss me?"

It was at that moment that Smurfette had let out her little, "Oh!" 

Theodore and Xolynda spun to face the tapestry.

"What was that?" asked Theodore.

"I-I don't know," Xolynda stammered. "Do-do you think there could be a spy..."

The Smurfs tried to squeeze themselves into the wall, but Prince Theodore strode forward and pulled the tapestry away.

Nettles, the snake, took the stunned pause that followed as a chance to escape unseen through the still open door. 

The Smurfs were trapped.

"Oh, what a terrible time to be stuck at this most unnatural size!" Brainy moaned 

"Oh, Theodore! Who are _they_?" the Lady Xolynda shrieked, as if they were spiders or rats.

"I don't know!" Theodore said, his expression shifting from stunned to angry. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Smurfette stepped forward. 

"Oh, Theo, surely you'll recognize us!" she exclaimed. "I'm not allowed to tell you outright who I am, but I can tell you this. Your face is even more handsome when I can look into your eyes properly."

"What?" said Theodore, totally confused.

Xolynda stormed furiously forward. 

"Theodore, I demand to know who this girl is!"

Theodore looked completely helpless. 

"I-I don't know, Xolynda! I swear I don't know! I've never seen her before in my life!"

"A likely story!" Xolynda shouted. "Why, then, does she seem to know you so well? And what was she doing hiding behind the tapestry in your office? Eh? Answer me, Theodore!"

"Please, your ladyship," said Smurfette. "We were just waiting to see Prince Theodore. When you both came in, it looked like you wanted to be alone, so we hid behind the tapestry so as not to disturb you. We're very sorry!"

The Lady Xolynda's eyes opened very wide as she realized these four young peasants had to have heard her conversation with her pet snake. One word and they could completely ruin all her plans.

"I knew it, Theodore!" she cried. "They're spies! Quick, throw them in the dungeon!"

"The dungeon!" the Smurfs chorused apprehensively.

"Well," said the Prince, "why else would you have been hiding behind the tapestry if you weren't spies?"

"We told you already!" said Brainy desperately. "We came to see you, but we didn't think we should disturb you when you had company. We thought there was a door behind here - I've read that some castles have trapdoors to secret passages that lead out of the castle hidden behind tapestries. But, we were wrong and ended up stuck! Please, don't throw us in the dungeon! We're not spies, honest!"

Prince Theodore suddenly looked triumphant. 

"Actually," he said, "there is a trapdoor behind this tapestry. Only a spy could know that. This proves you're spies! Guards!"

"Nice going, Brainy," snapped Hefty. "Now look what your big mouth has gotten us into!"

Brainy looked stricken. 

"But I didn't know there was really a trapdoor behind there! How could I! None of us did! If we had, we could have escaped ages ago! It's not my fault!"

"Well, you're the one who brought up the subject of trapdoors in the first place!" Hefty shouted back. "If you hadn't, he just might have let us off!"

"Oh, right! It's always my fault, isn't it! Something goes wrong, blame Brainy! Is that it?"

"When something goes wrong, it usually is your fault!"

The guards arrived then, taking Brainy and Hefty by the arms and pulling them farther apart.

"All right, you two, settle down! We don't want no trouble from you, you hear!"

"But, please, Mr. Guard," said Smurfette, giving it one last attempt. "We're not spies! Why, we're not even really humans! Just look in your mirror, Prince Theodore! You'll see!"

Prince Theodore stepped closer to Lady Xolynda. 

"I fear the girl may be mad," he said.

Smurfette stared at him, her face full of betrayal and pain. She hid her face in her hands and sobbed. 

"Oh! Oh, boo hoo! Of course he doesn't believe me! It's all my fault! If I hadn't made that stupid wish...!"

"Come on, girlie," said the guard, leading her out after the others. "Tell it to the stones. They weep more than you do down in the dungeon! Just ask old Morlock! He knows!"

*******

Prince Theodore felt very shaken by the strange girl's emotional display. Something about those spies disturbed him, almost as if he'd met them before. He couldn't remember ever having seen their faces, but their voices had been uncannily familiar. 

After a few minutes of musing and pacing, he finally determined to pay them a visit in the dungeon in the morning. He felt a need to find out who they really were and why they had really come to the palace.

The door closed behind him, and he turned to see Xolynda, her bright smile illuminating her fair face.

"Here we are, my love," said Xolynda. "Alone at last." 

She moved closer and wrapped her slender arms around his neck. 

Theodore tensed, despite himself.

"Oh, don't let those spies bother you," she said. "We get them all the time back home. The trick is to find out who they're working for. Then they're harmless, you see, and you can go after the real criminals!"

"You don't think we were a bit too hasty?" Theodore asked uncertainly. "They certainly seemed to believe what they were saying. And, if they had known about the trapdoor, why didn't they use it to escape?"

"I'm sure it was all an act, my dear. To play on your sweet nature!" 

She kissed his cheek. 

Theodore started to soften.

"I suppose you may be right," he said, and returned her warm smile. 

But, he was still not completely convinced...

To Be Continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Boo hoo hoo," Smurfette sobbed into her hands. "Oh, boo hoo!"

Brainy wrinkled his nose.

"Will you please stop crying, Smurfette? Some of us are trying to think!"

"Yeah?" Hefty countered. "And what good will your thinking do, Brainy? We're too big to smurf out of this dungeon!"

"Well," Brainy said defensively, "humans smurf out of prison all the time! The trick is to figure out how they do it!"

Clumsy looked uncomfortably around their cramped, shadowy cell.

"Gosh," he said. "This place sure seems small when you're a human. Wet too."

Several loud squeaks sounded from a dark corner, and Brainy shrieked.

"EEEKKK!" he yelped, jumping about three feet in the air from a sitting position. "There are rats in here!"

Clumsy inched closer to his friends.

"Gee, Brainy," he said. "I'm sorta scared. What do you think they're gonna do to us?"

"And, what about poor Theodore!" sobbed Smurfette. "That wicked Xolynda's plotting to kill him and he doesn't even know! Oh, boo hoo!" 

She crumpled into tears again.

"Oh, for Smurfs sake!" Brainy exclaimed. "A guard is sure to come down here sometime tomorrow. I mean, they have to feed us, don't they? We can warn him, or give him a note to take to Theodore, or smurf his keys or something."

"Well," Hefty said through a yawn. "No matter how you smurf it, there's nothing we can do to help either Theodore or ourselves until morning. So, I suggest we all smurf a good night's sleep. That way, we just might be able to smurf up with a really good plan tomorrow." 

He stretched out on the damp, moldy straw-covered floor and pulled up a broken stone to use as a pillow. 

"Good night, everysmurf," he said, closing his eyes.

Brainy stared at him. 

"I don't believe it," he said. "How can he possibly sleep at a time like this? This is worse than being trapped by Gargamel! At least there we know Papa Smurf will save us. Here, he doesn't even know that we're in trouble!" 

He sighed and gently placed his glasses on the crooked wooden table in the corner. Pushing aside a wad of smelly straw with his shoe, he curled up on the chilly stone floor and sighed again. 

"Well, at least here no one wants to eat us or smurf us into gold."

Clumsy went to lie down next to his friend, but Smurfette's sniffling on the other side of the cell bothered him too much to let him relax. Carefully as he could, he tiptoed across the cell and sat next to her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"There, there, Smurfette," he said. "It's not all that bad. I mean, if we hadn't been behind that tapestry, no one would know Prince Theodore was in danger until it was too late."

Smurfette sniffled loudly and rested her head on his shoulder. 

"Thank you for trying to make me feel better, Clumsy," she said, "but I don't think anything will help." 

She pulled away and started pacing the small cell.

"Oh, I still don't know what smurfed over me to make me smurf that wish! I'm all smurfed up!" she said. "I don't even know if I _want_ to marry Theodore. I just know how lonely he is, and how very unlucky he is when it comes to girls. The ones he's met only seem to like his riches or his power, never poor Theo himself! And, that evil Morlock is always trying to take over his kingdom."

Smurfette stopped pacing and turned to face him. 

"Oh, Clumsy, it just doesn't seem fair! Prince Theodore the smurfiest human I know! He's so good and kind, it's just wrong that everyone is always trying to smurf advantage of him! I-I just wanted to help him. To let him know just how smurfy he really is, at least to me. But, everything's turned out all wrong! And - and now... Now, I've gotten all of you in trouble too and we still might not be able to smurf out of here in time to save poor Theodore!"

"Gosh, Smurfette," said Clumsy. "I know you wanted to help out. But, gee! You didn't have to change yourself to do it. Prince Theodore likes you just the way you are! Or, were. Couldn't you let him know how smurfy you think he is as a Smurf?"

Smurfette sat down again and leaned against the chilly wall.

"Oh, I don't know, Clumsy. I'm so confused. I just wanted to be with him."

"But, Smurfette! Would you really want to leave all of us in Smurf Village to spend your life with him?"

Smurfette sighed. 

"I guess I'll have to smurf a decision, Clumsy," she said. "If I choose all of you, I can never let Theodore know just how much I love him. If I choose him, I'll have to tell him, but then, I'd never be able to visit the village again." 

A tear rolled down her nose and landed with a soft splash on the stone floor.

"Gosh, Smurfette," said Clumsy. "It must be tough being in love."

"Oh, Clumsy," she moaned miserably. "You don't know the half of it. But, none of this will mean anything if we don't find a way to rescue him from that evil Xolynda and her rotten snake before midnight tomorrow!"

*******

The Lady Xolynda paced angrily back and forth, back and forth, across her room and back again. For nearly an hour she'd been wracking her brain, trying to think of a plausible way to get that mushy fool Theodore to destroy those spies before they managed to wreck her plans. 

She knew her argument hadn't convinced him. The Prince was such a pathetic softy, he hadn't even put her idiot brother, Morlock, to death, and _he_ had tried to take over Theodore's kingdom more than once. How, then, could she get the Prince to kill four young peasants whose only offense was being in the wrong place at the wrong time? 

She blew out a furious breath from her perfect nose and flopped down on the soft bed. 

If only she possessed the magical ability her brother had. Then, she could cast an obedience spell over Theodore. As it was, she only had her good looks and charm to help her...

She sat up, a sly smile creeping over her face. 

Well, her good looks and charm had gotten her this far. And tomorrow night, if all went as planned, she would be sole ruler of Theodore's prosperous kingdom. She just had to play the doting, fearful fiancee long enough to bring out Theodore's protective streak...then stoke up enough anger to convince the gullible sop to do one last little thing to put her mind at ease, before he died!

*******

Prince Theodore tossed and turned, tossed and turned, completely unable to fall asleep. Those strange young spies haunted his thoughts...the honest desperation on their faces as the guards dragged them away... They had been perfect strangers, yet they'd seemed so familiar!

Theodore punched at his pillow and kicked and elbowed his mattress, struggling to make himself comfortable. Rather than being soft, like all the other beds in his kingdom, Prince Theodore's bed was firm and springy. This was because, instead of being stuffed with chicken feathers, his mattress was stuffed with fragrant heather. Prince Theodore, ruler of a kingdom of prosperous chicken farmers, was allergic to chicken feathers.

Finally, after his quilt had fallen to the floor a third time, he sat up, thinking back over the events leading up to the arrest of the four spies. 

Before the guard had called him to speak with the chicken farmers, he had been showing Xolynda his library. She had spotted Brainy Smurf's books, which had made him very nervous. He knew how much the Smurfs valued their secrecy. He had made a solemn promise to Papa Smurf that he would never reveal them or the location of their village to any human. And, naturally, that included Xolynda. 

Theodore felt rather guilty about having to keep such a wonderful secret from her, but he knew how necessary it was. Perhaps, after they'd been married for a few years, Papa Smurf would allow him to let his true love in on their secret as well. She had seemed very interested in the picture of Brainy on the cover.

Wait a moment. Brainy! The spy with the auburn hair had called the red-head with the glasses 'Brainy', he was certain of it. 

At the time, Theodore had thought it was a code name. He'd heard somewhere that all spies had code names. 

But, what if it wasn't? What if those spies really had been his friends the Smurfs in disguise? That would explain why their voices had sounded so familiar. 

But, why would the Smurfs disguise themselves as humans? Such a thing was unheard of! Unless, of course, they were in terrible danger. The girl had said something about a wish...

Theodore gasped.

Maybe that's why they'd come to see him! Perhaps they needed his help. Maybe they came to the palace disguised as humans because they knew he was holding a ball and were terrified of being discovered by the crowd of guests. If that was true, it would also explain why they'd hidden behind the tapestry when he and Xolynda had entered his office. It was the Smurfs' natural instinct to hide when humans came near.

And, he'd thrown them in the dungeon!

Theodore felt a huge wave of shame and anxiety wash over him. He hadn't been thinking clearly since Xolynda turned up. Well, he wouldn't allow love to cloud his judgment again. He would go to the dungeons right now! He had to find out the true identities of those spies, and at once.

Theodore was halfway into his hose when there came a knock on his door. He quickly pulled them up and, stepping into his boots, he called out, "Come in!"

The door opened and, to his great surprise, Xolynda entered.

"Xolynda!" he cried. "What are you doing here? It's late!"

Xolynda's pale cheeks blushed slightly. 

"I know, dear Theodore. But, my room was so cold. I was feeling quite homesick. I couldn't sleep, so, I came to see you." 

She shyly lowered her deep, blue eyes. 

"I'm sorry if I've disturbed you. I'll go back—"

Theodore felt torn. On the one hand, he needed to go down to the dungeons and have a talk with the spies. If he wanted to speak freely with them, he knew he had to be alone. On the other hand, he wanted to stay and comfort Xolynda. She seemed so pale and forlorn, standing there in her nightdress with her golden hair down... 

His heart went out to her, and he knew he couldn't send her away. Not when she looked so upset.

Sighing deeply, he pulled his cape around his shoulders and offered her his arm. He'd make sure Xolynda was safely back in her bed. Then, he'd go see the spies. They'd waited this long, they could surely wait a few minutes longer...

*******

The spies had left Xolynda very nervous. She seemed convinced they were behind some sort of plot to prevent their wedding. 

Prince Theodore tried to calm her, but she wouldn't relax until he promised he would let her interview them in the morning. Only then would she lie back in her bed and allow him to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight.

Theodore sighed as he crept down the steps to the dungeon. He hated having to lie, especially to his fiancee, but if his intuition was right, Xolynda would go down to the cells the next morning to find the prisoners gone. She would probably be upset for a while, but once the ceremony was over and she saw that she really was in no danger from his subjects, she would be all right. 

On the other hand, if she was right and the four intruders really were spies, it would probably be best if she did interview them. After all, she had experience with spies. Theodore certainly didn't. Either way, everything would ultimately work out fine.

The prisoners were all fast asleep when Theodore reached their cell. This was understandable, as it was well past midnight. By the light of his lantern, Theodore peered through the bars at the top of the thick, wooden door at the sleepers within. 

The three boys had stretched out at one end of the room while the girl slept at the other. The red-head's glasses rested on the rickety wooden table between them. They all looked so peaceful, Theodore felt rather guilty waking them.

He carefully placed the key in the lock, holding the others on the key ring tightly to prevent them from jingling. He didn't want to risk waking up Morlock, imprisoned in a much smaller cell at the far end of the corridor. It was a pretty good distance, but Theodore knew even small sounds sounded very loud at night when all was still.

Barely had he turned the key, when there came a loud shout from down the hall. 

Theodore jumped. 

The four prisoners stirred slightly in their sleep, but did not wake up.

"Theodore!" the voice shouted again. "I know you're down here! I want to talk with you!" 

"Morlock...!"

Tucking the keys back in his robe's pocket, the prince walked with slow, regal dignity toward his former court magician's cell. 

"Quiet, Morlock!" he ordered. "I'm here. What do you want?"

Morlock pressed his long features against the bars of his cell. His black eyes glittered wickedly in the light of the lantern, and his mustache hung off his lip like two bloated leeches.

"I've been hearing a great many very interesting things from the guards down here," he said in a voice like oiled sandpaper.

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

The magician twisted his lips in a a crooked smile.

"Well," he said. "For one thing, I've heard you've gotten yourself engaged to the Lady Xolynda."

"So what? That's common knowledge."

"For another thing," the magician went on, "I've heard she's convinced you to move the wedding to tomorrow afternoon. Is this true?"

"Yes," said the prince. "What of it?"

The magician's smile broadened.

"It just seems to me you're being a bit hasty. I mean, such a short engagement... It's rather against protocol, isn't it? Whatever will your people think?"

Prince Theodore blushed furiously. 

"For your information, Morlock," he said, "the Lady Xolynda and I have been writing letters to each other for months now. We've gotten to know each other quite well. Neither of us think we're rushing anything!"

Morlock barked a caustic laugh. 

"You say you've gotten to know each other quite well?"

"That's right," said Theodore, starting to get angry. "We love each other!"

Morlock laughed again, much longer this time. 

"Oh!" he gasped. "Oh, my boy, you do have sorry taste in women!"

Theodore was so furious he almost considered unlocking Morlock just so he could strike him. His horrible laugh seemed never ending.

"Stop that laughing, Morlock! You don't even know the Lady Xolynda! How can you possibly judge her!"

Morlock's laughter stopped immediately. When he pressed his face back against the bars, he looked deadly serious. 

Prince Theodore suddenly felt cold.

"Oh, I know the Lady Xolynda," Morlock said grimly. "I know her better than you ever will. And, I'll tell you this, my boy. The Lady Xolynda is not to be trusted."

"What do you mean, Morlock!" the prince demanded. "How dare you slander the Lady Xolynda in this fashion!"

But Morlock's face had gone from the bars. No matter how Theodore commanded him, Morlock would say no more. 

Finally, in a rage of frustration and anger, Theodore turned on his heel and left the dungeon, determined to find out from Xolynda herself just how well she and Morlock knew each other. 

The four sleeping prisoners, and their unlocked cell, were completely forgotten...

To Be Continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

_Thump, thump, thump!_

"All right, you four! Wake up! It's breakfast!"

_Thump, thump, thump!_

"Come on, you lot! I haven't got all day! Get up!"

The four prisoners sat up slowly, groaning and rubbing the sore places where the uneven stone floor had gouged them during the night. 

The guard laughed.

"Yeah, that's right! Not a pleasant place, a dungeon, is it? That'll teach you to spy on our Prince and his Lady!"

The guard shoved four bowls through a small flap in the door, then turned to go. 

"I'll be back for those plates in an hour. If you haven't eaten every bite, me and my buddies will have to force feed you like little babies. We won't have any prisoners starving themselves in this dungeon, you hear!"

Brainy stood up shakily and squinted blindly around himself. 

"Could one of you please hand me my glasses?"

"Here you go," said Hefty, pressing them into his hands. 

The guard shook his head at them, then walked away.

"Thank you," said Brainy gratefully, slipping them on at once. "Ah, that's better. So, what did they give us to eat?"

"Uh, I'm not sure," said Clumsy, playing with his portion with a spoon. "It's kind of thin and watery, and it's got little bits of grainy stuff floating in it."

"I think it's called gruel," said Brainy, shooting a distasteful look at his own bowl. "Ugh, I can't eat this."

"Neither can I," said Hefty, looking sick.

"Do you think we could ask if they've got any smurfberries?" asked Clumsy hopefully.

"I don't think they've even heard of smurfberries," Hefty said, wincing as he let a spoonful of the greyish glop slowly drool back into his bowl.

"But, we have to eat it," Smurfette pointed out. "Otherwise, they'll make us eat it."

Brainy shuddered, and placed his untouched gruel on the little table.

"I don't know about you," he said, "but I plan to smurf out of here before it comes to that."

"But, how, Brainy?" asked Hefty. "All the ideas we smurfed up with last night are no good."

Clumsy sat up very straight, his ears perked.

"Quiet, Smurfs," he said. "Uh, I think I hear something outside."

"Prince Theodore gave me permission last night to interview the prisoners," a silvery voice echoed from the end of the corridor. "And I told you, I would much rather do it alone! They're locked in, aren't they?"

The guard who'd given them their breakfast answered, "Erm, yes, my lady, but still—"

"I won't listen to another word. Just give me their cell number or I'll get Prince Theodore down here himself!"

The guard answered humbly. 

"Yes, my lady. It's number three, straight down the hall."

"Thank you!"

The Smurfs shared nervous glances as Xolynda's footsteps made their determined way toward their cell. The footfalls stopped abruptly outside their door and Lady Xolynda's beautiful face sneered at them through the bars.

"Good morning, my little spies," she hissed. "I hope you're enjoying your breakfast. It's sure to be the last meal you ever have!"

Smurfette jumped up from the table. 

"What do you mean, you nasty old hag!"

Xolynda stiffened. 

"Hag, am I? You'll pay for that, girl." 

She narrowed her icy blue eyes, her glare landing on each of the disguised Smurfs in turn. 

"My carefully designed plans will not be ruined by a troop of filthy, ignorant peasants. That's why I've convinced silly old Theodore to have you all hanged at noon, while everyone else in the kingdom will be attending our wedding ceremony!"

Her bright, tinkling laugh curdled the dungeon's dank air. The Smurfs had never heard such an evil sound.

"You horrible old snake!" Smurfette exclaimed, hurling herself at the door. "Prince Theodore will never marry you!"

To her surprise, and to the astonishment of the other three Smurfs, as soon as Smurfette clutched at the bars, the heavy wooden door (which Prince Theodore had unlocked the previous night) swung open, whacking the startled Xolynda upside the head and flinging her against the coarse, stone wall. 

The four Smurfs stood stunned for a moment, staring through the open door at her unmoving form. 

Then, they rushed to her side.

"She's going to be all right," Hefty announced, gingerly inspecting the bruise on her head, "but she'll have a rotten headache when she wakes up."

"Quick," said Brainy. "Let's smurf her in the cell."

Hefty crouched down and effortlessly lifted the unconscious Xolynda from the ground. 

"Just tell me where you want me to smurf her down."

Brainy looked around. 

"Here, where Smurfette slept last night. The stones are smoothest here."

"All right." 

Hefty placed her down gently, then backed away a few paces.

Clumsy stepped forward to look at her. Then he looked up at Smurfette, and his eyes widened. 

"Oh, um, gosh, Smurfette," he said. "She looks just like you do!"

Brainy, Hefty, and Smurfette leaned in closer for a better look.

"You know," said Brainy, "Clumsy's right! How could I not have noticed this before?" 

He stood thoughtfully for a moment running a hand through his flaming red hair. Then, his pale face broke into a huge grin. 

"My fellow Smurfs: I, Brainy Smurf, have just smurfed up with an absosmurfly brilliant idea!"

"Then tell us what it is already, Brainy," Hefty snapped. "Preferably before she wakes up."

Brainy shot him a haughty look. 

"Some Smurfs just don't appreciate genius." 

Hefty harumphed and crossed his arms.

Brainy smirked at him.

"My idea is this," he said. "Smurfette and Xolynda should switch places!"

"Gosh!" Clumsy cheered. "That is brilliant, Brainy!" 

He paused. 

"Uh, why?"

"Don't you see, Clumsy?" Brainy exclaimed. "If Smurfette pretends to be Xolynda, she can tell Theodore that we're not spies! Then, Clumsy and I can smurf him our true identities and warn Theodore about the real Xolynda's plan to kill him and smurf over his kingdom! While we're smurfing that, Hefty can smurf Smurfette back to the village where she can smurf Gourdy's gourd and unsmurf her wish to be human before Theodore has the chance to smurf who she really is!"

Hefty looked impressed. 

"Wow! I have to admit it, Brainy, that does sound like a brilliant plan!"

Brainy smirked smugly.

Clumsy grinned. 

"Yeah! Um, what do you think, Smurfette?"

But, Smurfette didn't answer. She was looking with great astonishment at the features of the unconscious Xolynda.

"Do you three really think I look like her?" she asked in an awed voice. "She's so lovely! Evil, but lovely!"

Clumsy gave a bashful giggle. 

"Gosh, Smurfette. I guess she might look smurfy to a human, but you look much smurfier as a Smurf."

The other two nodded in heartfelt agreement.

Smurfette blushed happily.

"So, what do you say, Smurfette?" asked Hefty. "Will you smurf along with Brainy's plan and pretend to be Xolynda?"

Smurfette looked up, a familiar glint of bravery flashing in her eyes. 

"Yes," she said. "I will. You three have to stand outside for a moment, though, while I switch clothes with her."

"All right," said Brainy. "But, be careful! We don't want her waking up before we've had a chance to smurf our escape!"

*******

Smurfette emerged from the cell more quickly than they had hoped. Together, the disguised Smurfs pushed the cell door closed, gratified to hear a sharp click. The door was locked once more. The wicked Lady Xolynda was trapped.

"Where do you think Theodore is now?" Hefty asked as they hurried down the corridor.

"Do any of you know what time it is?" asked Brainy.

"Um, why don't we ask the guard?" said Clumsy.

"What?" the others exclaimed. They'd completely forgotten about the guard standing watch at the end of the hall!

"My lady," the stocky guard said, bowing to Smurfette as they approached him. 

Smurfette gave him an awkward smile. 

"If I may ask," the guard continued, straightening, "what are you doing with those three prisoners? And, how did you manage to get them out? I thought only I had the keys to these cells?"

"Well, um," said Smurfette, thinking fast, "the prince smu— Uh, _gave_ me a copy of the key! He told me that if I found these prisoners to be innocent of their crimes, I was to set them free and bring them to him at once so he could apologize for locking them up."

"Oh," said the guard, looking rather upset.

"Is something wrong?" Smurfette asked.

"No, my lady," the guard said unhappily. "It's just that, we get so few prisoners. Setting them free is usually my job."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Smurfette. "I didn't realize."

"It's all right, my lady. If your orders came from the prince, I don't mind."

"Well, that's very sm—" Brainy nudged her with his elbow. "—I mean, nice of you."

The disguised Smurfs turned to go, but the guard had one last thing to say. 

"I'm sorry I won't be able to see your wedding, my lady. I'm scheduled for guard duty down here all week."

"Oh, that is too bad—" Smurfette started, but Brainy interrupted her.

"Yes, it is too bad, but you really are needed down here. Do you remember the girl we were locked up with?"

The guard nodded. 

"Yeah, that's right! I was just about to ask you where she was."

"Well, we had to leave her in the cell," Brainy said. "You see, it turns out that she's a _real_ spy!"

"Oh yeah?" the guard asked, his eyes wide with interest.

"Oh, um, yes! Yes, that's right," Smurfette said. 

"She was already in Prince Theodore's office when we got there," Hefty added, getting in on the story. "She was the one who suggested we should hide behind the tapestry when Lady Xolynda and the Prince came in."

"You don't say!" The guard gaped. "And I'd thought she was such a sweet little thing!"

Smurfette blushed again. 

"Yes, well, sometimes a pretty face can hide an evil mind," she said, quoting something she'd once heard Papa Smurf say. 

Brainy looked at her in surprise.

"That's a good point, my lady," the guard agreed. "Anything else I should know about the prisoner before you go?"

"Well," said Brainy, "she might say that she's really the Lady Xolynda and that the real Lady Xolynda here is an impostor!"

The guard's small eyes opened very wide. 

"The cheek of it!"

"Yeah," Hefty put in. "And, I'd be on the lookout for a snake too, if I were you. It's her pet. She calls it Nettles. We heard her talking to it in Prince Theodore's office."

"I will," said the guard. "And thank you for the advice, my lady." 

He bowed again.

"Oh, don't mention it!" Smurfette said. "We're all on the same side here!"

They turned to go but, after a few paces, Smurfette turned around.

"Oh, Guard?" she called.

"Yes, my lady?"

"Would you happen to know where the prince might be right now?"

The guard looked thoughtful. 

"Well, it's about three hours till noon. I'd say he'd be in the throne room, overseeing the arrangements for your coronation directly after the wedding ceremony."

"Thank you!" the disguised Smurfs chorused, and they hurried from the dungeon.

*******

Prince Theodore had left the throne room by the time the Smurfs arrived. The hoards of busy decorators were barely able to pause long enough to tell them in brusque, clipped tones that the prince had gone to his office to see to some last minute paperwork before it was time to dress for the wedding.

Thanking the decorators just as brusquely, the Smurfs raced down the corridors, Smurfette - who seemed able to recognize everything despite her drastic shift in height - leading the way.

"Hang on!" Hefty said suddenly, coming to a halt a few feet from Theodore's door.

"What?" asked his companions.

"Um, well, don't you think we ought to smurf back into our armor before we go in there? I mean, what if he doesn't buy our story as easily as that guard did?"

Brainy and Clumsy looked at each other, both remembering the torture they'd endured trying to move in all that metal.

"No," they chorused.

Hefty nodded, not surprised. 

"Well, I just thought I'd suggest it. All right, let's go!"

*******

Prince Theodore's door was open. The Smurfs could see him working at his desk, his quill wiggling furiously over the parchment. 

At a nudge from Hefty, Smurfette knocked softly on the open door and stepped into the room. The remaining Smurfs stayed in the corridor, out of sight. 

The prince looked up.

"Oh, Xolynda my love!" he exclaimed happily, dropping his work and striding over to her. "How did the interview with the prisoners go?" 

He kissed her cheek, and Smurfette blushed furiously. 

"Were they spies, as you'd feared?"

Smurfette cleared her throat and took a step back. 

"Um, only one of them, Theodore," she said. "The girl. The boys just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up getting arrested with her."

"Really?" said Theodore curiously. "What was she doing?"

"Would you believe it," Smurfette exclaimed, "she was planning to take my place?" 

Theodore gasped. 

"It's true," Smurfette went on, hating to tell Theodore a lie but knowing, if he guessed her real identity, Gourdy's magic could never be undone. "Even now, if you go down to the dungeons, she'll tell you she's really Xolynda. She has this pet snake, Nettles, and she planned to first get me out of the way, then marry you and, on the wedding night, she was planning to have Nettles bite you! Then, she would be the sole ruler of your kingdom! The three boys, um...." 

She wracked her brains trying to remember the names they'd made up for themselves when they were pretending to be knights.

"—Brian, Harold and, um, Clement! They told me everything!"

"And how did they know?" the prince asked.

"Because the false Xolynda told us all her plans. You know how bad guys love to brag. She couldn't help herself," Hefty spoke up, entering the room. He was followed closely by Clumsy - who just managed to save himself from tripping over Theodore's carpet by grabbing onto the door frame - and Brainy, who was standing with his chest puffed out and his glasses shining, pompous as ever.

Theodore smiled. 

"Then that means I owe you three an apology," he said humbly - then brightened. "And, a medal!"

"A medal!" the Smurfs chorused in surprise.

"Yes! For heroic services rendered to your prince and his lady." 

He favored them with a broad grin, then turned to Smurfette.

"You truly are wonderful my darling," he said. "But, time is growing short. You must go dress for the ceremony." 

Smurfette turned an anxious look to her fellow Smurfs, and Theodore laughed.

"Oh, don't worry about them!" he said. "I'll make sure they have three of the best seats to watch the wedding! Go on now!" 

He kissed her hand, then closed the door behind her, leaving himself alone with the three Smurfs.

"Now, my friends," he said, striding back to his desk and sifting through drawers. "I meant to ask you a few questions myself last night, but I was distracted."

He found what he was looking for, pulling out three stiff pieces of parchment and a fistful of blue and red ribbons. Then, he closed the drawer and sat down behind his desk.

"Please," he said to his uncertain guests. "Take a seat."

The three disguised Smurfs sat in the comfortable plush chairs Theodore had arranged in front of his desk.

"Gee," Clumsy whispered to Brainy, who was sitting next to him. "I sure wish we had chairs like these back in the village!"

Prince Theodore leaned forward, suddenly serious.

"Now," he said. "Who are you, really?"

The Smurfs looked at each other, surprised. They thought they'd been doing so well!

Brainy made a soggy attempt at a confident smile.

"Um, what do you mean, your highness?" he asked.

Theodore leaned back in his chair with a sigh. 

"Well, to tell you the truth I'm not really sure myself. It's just that you three remind me very strongly of some good friends of mine, and I couldn't help wondering if..." 

He trailed off, the shook his head. 

"No... No, it's silly. You couldn't be them." 

He reached over his desk and grabbed his copy of the first volume of Brainy Smurf's Bedtime Stories. 

Brainy twitched uncomfortably in his chair as Theodore looked first to the picture on the cover, then to him, then back to the picture. 

Finally, the prince shook his head.

"No, this is ridiculous," he said, sliding the tiny book back into place beside its fellows. 

The three Smurfs breathed a collective sigh of relief. 

"I'm sorry, my friends," Theodore said, and smiled. He spread out the thick squares of parchment on his desk and took up his quill.

"Now, what did you say your name was?" he asked pleasantly. 

The Smurfs looked at each other, unsure which of them he meant. 

"You, with the red hair and the glasses."

"Oh," said Brainy. "Um, Brian."

Theodore nodded and started scribbling. 

"Brian what?"

Brainy wrinkled his forehead. 

"What do you mean?"

"Your surname, man! What is it?"

Brainy felt as if his stomach had fallen back down to the dungeons. 

"Er, um..."

"Go on," said the prince kindly. "This is a certificate of award! I'm not going to send any of you back down to the dungeons. Not after you discovered the impostor's plan and helped save my fiancée and my kingdom."

"Erm, um, Smu— I mean, Smith!" Brainy exclaimed at last.

"Very good," said Theodore, scribbling some more. "Brian Smith. Here you are!" 

He handed him the square of parchment along with one of the colored ribbons he'd placed on his desk. A small metal disk was attached to the end of each ribbon, intricately engraved with pictures of a crown and a sword. The words 'Favorites of the Crown' encircled the pictures.

"Now, you're officially named as one of the protectors of my kingdom," Theodore said proudly.

Brainy blushed as he turned the medal over in his hands.

"Gee, thanks."

The prince then went through the same procedure with the other two. 

"Clement Smith. Oh, so you two must be brothers! Harold Smith. You three, I mean." 

Once he'd handed out all the parchments and medals, Prince Theodore motioned for them to stand.

"Congratulations," he said and grinned, shaking them each firmly by the hand. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I really must get ready for my wedding! I certainly wouldn't want to be late!"

The Smurfs shared an anxious look. Their friend looked so very happy... 

"We have to tell him," Hefty whispered to the others. "We can't let him go on thinking Smurfette's really Xolynda. It's just wrong, for both of them!"

"But how?" asked Clumsy. "He's so excited!"

Brainy hung his head sadly. 

"We'll just have to tell him the straight truth. All of it, no matter how it makes him feel. It's the only way."

Hefty and Clumsy nodded dejectedly. 

"You do it, Brainy," said Hefty. "After all, speeches are your big thing, aren't they?"

Brainy shot him a scathing look, but turned to the prince, who was just opening the door.

"Um, your highness?" he called out hesitantly.

Theodore turned. 

"Yes, Brian?"

Brainy swallowed, then took a deep, bracing breath, squeezing his new medal tightly in his hand. 

"Um, it's not Brian, Prince Theodore," he said. "You were right the first time, when you looked at my book. My name's Brainy. Brainy Smurf."

To Be Continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Smurfette choose to stay with Theodore, or to return to Smurf Village? Will Theodore guess her true identity now that he knows about the Smurfs' disguises? Only two chapters left to find out! Stay tuned, and thanks so much for reading my story! Your comments and reviews are always welcome! :D


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"Let me out of here, you incompetent moron!" Lady Xolynda shrieked, pounding her fists against the rough, wooden door. "Just you wait until the Prince finds out what you've done! When I don't turn up at the wedding ceremony, he'll come looking for me! Then he'll find how you let those spies escape! He'll have you hanged, or worse! Let me out!"

The guard sighed deeply as he carried the girl spy's luncheon gruel towards her cell. She'd been ranting like this ever since she woke up. He had to admit, though, if he hadn't seen the real Lady Xolynda a few hours ago, this imposter's impassioned screams just might have convinced him she was telling the truth. 

As it was, he could feel no pity for her. She'd been planning to kill the good prince and take over his kingdom. She deserved to be locked up as much as Morlock.

"Your lunch, _my lady_ ," he said sarcastically, bending down to slide the bowl of thin gruel through the flap at the bottom of the door. 

As he pushed it through, he saw a brief flash of green and a sharp burst of pain shot through his fingers and up his arm. 

Alarmed, the guard clutched his wrist, staring in shock at the two little pricks of blood standing out on his index finger.

"Wha-what's going on?" he cried in a shaky voice. 

The pain was rapidly spreading towards his heart. Unable to stand, the panicked guard fell to the floor, paralyzed. 

The musty air around him filled with the spy's silvery laughter.

"Good work, Nettles, my pet! Now, bring me his keys."

The paralyzed guard could only stare, his horror growing as a long, green snake slithered out the door flap and up, over his round belly, its thin, pink tongue flicking in and out. He listened as the snake somehow managed to remove his keys from his belt, then felt its cool, muscular weight slide off him. The keys clinked and jangled as the snake slid with them across the uneven stones of the floor.

"Wonderful job, my pet," came the spy's sweet voice. 

If the guard could move, he would have shuddered. 

The door above him clicked and opened. A moment later, the wicked spy's dun-colored peasant dress swished against the stones beside him.

"Too bad he won't live to see me triumph!" the spy said, and laughed. "Oh, and Nettles. Before we go, why don't you see to it that my dear brother Morlock is comfortable?" 

The snake hissed as if it were laughing with her. 

"This is a glorious day, my pet!" she crowed. "Before midnight tonight, I shall be Queen, and sole ruler of this entire, filthy rich kingdom!" 

With that, she strode away, leaving the petrified guard alone with the echo of her tinkling laughter. 

It was the last sound he ever heard.

*******

Smurfette had to admit it. She was completely lost. She'd never been in this part of the castle before. Already, she'd asked three different people for directions to Xolynda's rooms, and each time she had gotten a different response. 

Finally, with the countdown to the ceremony nipping at her heels, she gave up on decorum and started to open every door she came across, hoping to find a room that seemed likely to belong to Xolynda. If she couldn't locate it that way, she'd have no choice but to return to Theodore's office and ask him. She only hoped he wouldn't question her disorientation. After all, the Lady Xolynda was supposed to be new to this kingdom.

The first six rooms she tried were mostly storage, the seventh belonged to a very rude old man Smurfette gathered had once been Prince Theodore's falconer. His wrinkled face and skinny arms were covered in scars and scratches. On and on she went, opening door after door, until, finally, she found a room that looked promising.

"Oh, my!" Smurfette exclaimed happily. "Just look at all these lovely gowns!"

A pile of rich dresses had been neatly laid out on the large bed in the center of the stone room. Smurfette looked through them, feeling the different fabrics and admiring the rich, vibrant colors, the intricate embroidery and the delicate lace work.

"If I ever go back to the Village, I'll have to ask Tailor if he can smurf me a gown like these!" she said, pressing her cheek against smooth satins and silks.

Leaving the dresses, Smurfette snooped around the rest of the room in search of some evidence of the identity of its owner. Over by the dresser, she found a large, silver looking glass. Picking it up, she gasped in amazement at the sight of her reflection. 

The young lady gaping back at her through the glass was positively stunning. Her long, golden hair cascaded down the slender back of Xolynda's silver gown, reaching almost to her feet, which were clad in lovely silver shoes. Her large eyes were of the deepest blue, her nose was just right, and her mouth was small and pink. 

Unable to quite believe her eyes, Smurfette smiled at her reflection, admiring the way her eyes and hair went so well with the shimmery gown. 

"Oh, Brainy and the others would like this mirror," she thought to herself. "They've been wanting to see what they looked like since they came looking for me."

"Hey, there! Who are you, and what do you think you're doing with my mirror!" 

The shrill shout from behind made Smurfette gasp and turn to see a lovely young lady with raven hair and green eyes. The lady's furious gaze turned rapidly to surprise and mortification as she saw the face of her intruder.

"Oh, my Lady Xolynda! Forgive me," she cried. "I didn't realize it was you!"

"No, it's my fault," Smurfette said sheepishly. "I'm afraid I'm a bit lost. Do you happen to know where my rooms are?"

The raven haired girl seemed genuinely apologetic. 

"No, I'm sorry, my lady. I wish I could help you."

Smurfette sighed.

"It's all right. I'll just have to ask Theodore. I do hope he won't think I'm stupid, getting lost like this."

The green-eyed lady smiled kindly. 

"Oh, I'm sure he'll understand, my lady. It's a big castle. Do you like that mirror?"

Smurfette had forgotten she was still holding it. 

"What? Oh, yes. It's really quite sm— I mean, lovely."

"You can have it if you like," said the raven-haired girl. "You can think of it as a wedding present."

Smurfette was stunned. 

"Oh, really? I can have it? Oh, thank you very much!"

The girl with the raven hair smiled. 

"I hope you find your rooms soon. There's only about an hour and a half before the ceremony."

"Oh, is it that late already! I have to find Theodore! Good bye! And thank you again for the lovely mirror!"

*******

"What was that?" asked Theodore, his hand frozen on the door latch. "I'm not sure I heard you right."

"I'm Brainy Smurf. Really!" Brainy said, and gestured to his companions. "And these are Hefty and Clumsy. You guessed right, your highness."

The prince staggered forward, his eyes wide. He looked each of them over, noting the unusually deep blue of their eyes, the strangely round shape of their ears, and their large-ish, Smurf-like noses.

"You're right!" he exclaimed. "I knew there was something familiar about you three! But, tell me, why are you here? What made you come here disguised as humans? I've never heard of Smurfs disguising themselves as humans before. Is there something wrong at the Village? Are you in danger? Do you need my help?"

Brainy took a deep breath. This was really going to be difficult. 

"Well, actually, Theodore, we're here like this because of Smurfette."

Prince Theodore sat heavily in the chair Hefty had vacated. 

"Smurfette! What's happened to her? Is she all right?"

"Yes! She's all right."

"Then, I don't understand. What's the matter?"

Brainy straightened his glasses, then plunged forward. 

"She's madly in love with you, your highness," he blurted out, completely unable to think of a more tactful way of letting him know. "Or, at least she thinks she is. Yesterday she got Gourdy, Farmer's genie, to grant her a wish. You see, when you told her you were going to get married, she completely flipped her smurf. She just couldn't stop crying! Papa Smurf tried to help her, but she smurfed away to Farmer's fields and rubbed Gourdy's gourd. Papa Smurf had to send us to smurf her back before the wish became permanent!"

"But, then, why haven't I seen her? And, why were you sent here as humans?"

Brainy looked uncomfortable. 

"Well, you see, the thing is, Smurfette's wish was rather out of the ordinary, if you know what I mean."

"No, I don't."

"It concerned love, you see, so it's smurf full of unsmurfy conditions! One of them is, if you figure out what she's done before midnight tonight and tell her so, she'll remain as she is now forever! Then, she'll never be able to return with us to the village!"

"But, what has she done?" Prince Theodore asked desperately. "Surely if you tell me it won't affect her. After all, I won't have figured it out for myself, you'll have told me."

Brainy fidgeted uncomfortably. 

"I don't know," he said. "Magic wishes don't always smurf kindly to loopholes. You'll have to promise not to tell her outright that you know who she is just the same."

"Yeah," said Hefty. "Like, if you see her, don't say 'Hi, Smurfette' or something like that."

Brainy nodded. 

"Yes, it would be best if you don't use her name. So, do you promise?" he asked.

Prince Theodore looked as if he was afraid it would be a very difficult promise to keep. But, he stood straight and assured the Smurfs and himself that, "I do."

Brainy nodded. 

"All right. She wished for Gourdy to smurf her into a hu—"

The door to Theodore's office burst open.

Clumsy yelped.

"Look out!" he cried. "It's Xolynda!"

"What!" Brainy exclaimed. "How did she smurf out of the dungeon!"

The Prince wrinkled his forehead. 

"Dungeon? What are you talking about? Xolynda, my love," he said, moving toward her. "What's happened to your gown? Why are you dressed in these peasant clothes?"

Xolynda laughed. It was not a pleasant sound. 

Prince Theodore stepped closer. 

"Why do you laugh, my dear? Shouldn't you be getting dressed for the wedding?"

Xolynda's blue eyes flashed. 

"I could ask you the same thing, _my love_ ," she spat. "What are you doing with these three spies?"

"Spies? " Theodore exclaimed. "But, Xolynda, they're not spies! You said yourself after your interview-"

"That wasn't me, Theo, it was that filthy female impostor! It's all part of their plan to get rid of me before the wedding! They want you to marry that filthy little peasant girl instead!"

"Xolynda!" cried Prince Theodore, unable to believe his ears. "What are you saying? These three young men aren't spies! They're good friends of mine!"

Xolynda stared at him incredulously. 

"How could you possibly have fallen for their lies so quickly? Just how big of an idiot are you! Your good friends? Why you've only known them for an hour!"

Theodore staggered back, flabbergasted at the ferocity of her manner. 

"Xolynda! Have you gone mad? Settle down!"

"What have they told you, Theodore," she asked, advancing towards him with eyes blazing. "That I've been plotting to kill you? That I want your kingdom for myself?"

Prince Theodore backed away from his raving fiancée, unsure what to think. He had never seen her like this before. She seemed so strange, so paranoid!

"Don't you see it's all a tissue of lies created by these peasant spies to discredit me in the eyes of your people! You must kill them, Theodore! I must see them dead before the wedding! Otherwise, you and I will never be safe!"

Prince Theodore gaped at her, aghast. 

"You want me to kill these innocent people? Surely, you are not my Xolynda! She would never ask me to do such a wretched thing!"

"Um, your highness," said Brainy, a bit nervously.

Theodore turned on him. 

"What is it, Brainy?" he snapped.

"Oh, well, erm, as I was about to tell you, she really is—"

The door burst open again. This time, Smurfette stood there, breathlessly panting in her silver gown. 

"Oh, Theo, I'm afraid I've forgotten the way to my rooms—" she started. 

Then, she noticed Xolynda. 

"Oh, dear!" she exclaimed, bringing her hands to her mouth. "How did she break out of the dungeon?"

Prince Theodore looked from one girl to the other, completely confused. 

"Xolynda?" he asked weakly.

"NO!" cried the real Xolynda, rushing at Smurfette. 

Clumsy stretched out a leg and tripped her. 

Xolynda fell on her face at Smurfette's feet.

"Nice smurfing, Clumsy!" Hefty cheered, clapping him on the back.

"Yes," Brainy agreed. "For once you've managed to trip someone besides yourself!"

Clumsy grinned proudly. 

"Gosh," he said, bashfully.

Prince Theodore strode forward. 

"Will someone please tell me just what is going on here?" he exclaimed. "Which is the real Xolynda and which is the impostor?"

Brainy started to say something, then caught a glimpse of blue in the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw his reflection in Theodore's magic mirror. 

He grinned, another brilliant idea forming in his smurftacular brain.

"Your highness," he said, "I suggest that you look at them both in your mirror. Since it only smurfs the truth, you should know at once which of these two girls truly cares for you, and which of them wishes you harm."

Hefty came up behind him. 

"Brainy, are you sure about this? If he sees them in that mirror, he'll know about Smurfette!"

"But he promised not to say anything!" Brainy whispered back. "He knows what's at stake. I'm certain he'll keep his mouth shut." 

Hefty nodded, but Brainy could tell he wasn't completely convinced.

While the two Smurfs had been whispering, Prince Theodore was helping the fallen Xolynda to her feet.

"That's a wonderful idea, Brainy," he was saying. "I'd completely forgotten about that mirror!"

"I agree," said Xolynda, brushing herself off angrily. "Now we'll see who's telling the truth and who's an impostor!"

Smurfette looked anxiously at Brainy. 

"Just go along with it," he said with an encouraging smile. "It'll be all right!" 

He crossed his fingers behind his back, suddenly missing his little blue Smurf tail. 

"I hope," he said under his breath.

Theodore took each of the two identical ladies by the hand and led them before his magic mirror. Standing behind them, he looked in wonder at their reflections. 

"What in the world is that?" Xolynda screeched as she caught a glimpse of Smurfette's true, blue image. "Why, she's not even human!"

Xolynda was so upset that she didn't even notice how her own reflection had been altered. Her figure was still as perfect as ever, but it seemed that in the mirror she had broken out in an unfortunate case of purple spots. On each spot, in bright red, was written either _Murderess, Morlock's Sister,_ or _Traitor to the Crown_.

"I believe I can see now which of you truly cares for me," said the prince with a smile.

Xolynda turned from the mirror with a fierce, toothy grin. 

"Good! Now, we must hurry. If we don't, we'll be late for our wedding."

"Oh, I don't think there's going to be any wedding, Xolynda," Theodore continued in a light, breezy voice.

Xolynda knit her brows together. 

"What are you talking about?" she demanded, not sounding in the least amused. "You just said you can see which of us is telling the truth. I'm obviously the real Xolynda. That blue monster over there—"

The prince's smile vanished without a trace. His normally pleasant face darkened. 

Xolynda took a startled step back. 

"Theodore—"

"That 'blue monster,' as you so indelicately put it, just happens to be one of my closest and dearest friends. She and her kind have saved my life and my kingdom more times than I care to count. I owe her everything! If it hadn't been for her, there would have been no one to prevent you from murdering me and usurping my throne, _Morlock's sister_!"

Xolynda's look of stunned disbelief slowly morphed to one of cold, calculating evil. 

"So," she said, her silvery voice sleek and oily. "The eavesdroppers have told their tale. Well, my cover may be blown, but I'm not beaten yet. Nettles!" she cried with a tinkling bark of laughter. 

The giant, green snake came slithering eagerly through the open door.

"Now we'll see if any of you clever peasants are immune to snake venom! Theodore, my love," she crowed, grabbing his arm with a startling strength, "we're going to get married, right now, whether you like it or not. Come along!"

Turning her back on the terrified Smurfs as they struggled with her poisonous pet, Xolynda attempted to yank Theodore after her into the hall. 

Theodore grabbed hold of the door frame, stopping their progress. 

Xolynda pulled harder, but Theodore hung on for dear life.

"Guards!" he shouted. "Help me!" 

But it was to no avail. Every person in the kingdom had gone to the cathedral and was now anxiously waiting for the wedding to begin...

*******

Nettles hissed and stabbed, shooting his head forward in repeated attempts to sting the Smurfs. 

Clumsy aimed a kick at the snake's thick middle, but missed and went crashing to the floor. 

With astonishing speed, the snake turned and flew towards him, barely touching the carpet. 

Brainy tore one of Theodore's books from the shelf and slammed it down between the snake and his friend. 

Nettles smashed into it. 

Brainy quickly helped Clumsy to his feet.

"Stand on the desk, Clumsy," said Brainy, jumping up onto one of the plush chairs. "It can't reach you up there!"

*******

"I won't go, Xolynda," Theodore grunted from the doorway, still struggling against her super-human strength. "I refuse to marry a murderess!"

"You'll come!" Xolynda heaved, nearly pulling the prince's arm from its socket. Theodore let out a sharp yelp of pain. "You'll come in pieces if it's the only way to get you to the altar! I must have this kingdom!"

"You're just like your brother, you know that?" Theodore panted, latching even harder onto the door frame with his elbow. "I'm surprised you didn't get him to help you."

"Oh, Morlock was a great help to me. He told me the best way to get to you - through that puddle of romantic mush you call a heart!" 

She gave another tug, ripping the sleeve of his royal robe.

"So, where is he now?" Theodore groaned as she dug her long fingernails into his forearm, trying to get a better grip. "Did you free him when you broke out of your cell?"

Xolynda laughed. 

"Oh, I freed him all right. I had my dear little Nettles assist in his release. You won't have to worry about him anymore!"

Theodore was appalled. 

"Your own brother!" he exclaimed. "You are despicable!"

"Yes, and I'm soon to be Queen if you'll just let go of that blasted door frame!"

"Never!" Theodore cried, feeling it was worth the loss of his arm so long as Xolynda never managed to drag him to the altar.

*******

"Smurfette!" Hefty warned from beside the tapestry. "It's headed your way! Jump over it!"

Smurfette made a spectacular leap in her high heeled shoes and landed flawlessly at the tail end of the snake. 

A furious Nettles doubled back on itself, aiming this time for Hefty's feet.

"Hefty!" his three companions exclaimed, realizing he'd been backed into a corner. The snake was gaining on him so rapidly, Hefty didn't have room to leap over its snapping jaws.

"Hang on, Hefty!" Smurfette shouted, pulling the mirror the raven-haired girl had given her from her dress pocket. "I'll stop the monster!"

With all her strength, Smurfette brought the flat back of the heavy, silver mirror down on the snake's livid, green head. 

The snake stopped its movement, momentarily stunned. 

Hefty took the opportunity to jump over it and join the others, standing on the room's furnishings.

Slowly, the snake shook its head. The blow from the mirror had addled its wits and made it very, very angry. It no longer cared who or what it bit, just so long as it could sink its fangs into something. 

Looking around desperately for something warm and fleshy, its long, flickering tongue caught the distinct flavor and odor of a human nearby. Shooting forward at its fastest slither, the snake sank its long fangs into the soft flesh of someone's bare ankle. 

There was a high-pitched scream, then a heavy thump. 

It's fury still unabated, the snake coiled itself around it's prone victim, biting over and over again. 

All too soon, the victim stopped struggling. 

Still, the snake continued biting, not caring that the victim's scream had sounded strangely familiar...

*******

"Oh, my smurfness! It's horrible!"

"Did you see that?"

"It went right for her, I've never smurfed anything like it!"

"Um..." Clumsy swallowed. "Gosh!"

"Quick, one of you Smurfs, toss me my dress sword," Theodore commanded. "It's leaning against the wall beside my chair."

Clumsy was closest, so he jumped down from the desk and galloped over to the pale prince with his sword.

"Um, here you are, your highness. Uh, what're ya gonna do with it?"

"I'm going to put an end to Xolynda's evil once and for all."

Sliding the thin, sharp sword from its scabbard, the prince strode forward until he was standing over the body of his former fiancée. Her pet snake was still coiled around her motionless form, though her life had already fled. 

With one clean swipe, Theodore separated the snake's venomous head from its livid body. 

After several twitches, the snake lay as still as its mistress.

Slowly, the Smurfs climbed down from the furniture and came to join Theodore and Clumsy at the door. Clumsy had his face buried in his hands and his back to the two bodies in the hall.

"Is it over?" he asked, peeking cautiously through his fingers.

"Don't look, Smurfette," said Hefty, who had made the mistake of looking himself and was now feeling quite sick. "It's too horrible."

"Any senseless death is horrible," Prince Theodore said tiredly, flexing his arms to make sure they still worked right. "Especially when the life that came before it was wasted on cruelty and greed."

The Smurfs nodded in agreement with their heads bowed.

"But, Theodore," said Smurfette, raising her head suddenly. "What about all the people in your kingdom! They're all waiting to see a royal wedding! What are you going to tell them?"

"The truth, I suppose. Though, I won't blame them if they don't believe me. I still find it hard to believe myself. She seemed such a wonderful girl! At times... At times I felt she understood me almost as well as you do."

Smurfette could feel her eyes getting moist. 

"Oh, Theodore," she sniffled. "Now I know why I made that silly wish!"

She threw herself at the prince, embracing him in a fierce hug. 

After a moment of surprise, Theodore returned it. 

The Smurfs stared at them, not quite sure how to feel.

"Well," sniffed Brainy. His eyes were starting to get moist as well. "Perhaps your kingdom will witness a royal wedding after all..." 

Bursting into a wave of uncontrollable tears, he collapsed into a chair, clutching his dripping glasses in his hands.

"Yeah," Clumsy managed, his voice trembling. "Oh, gosh! We'll miss you, Smurfette!" 

He fell sobbing into the chair next to Brainy, blowing his nose loudly on his brown, peasant shirt.

"Oh, smurf up, you two," said Hefty, trying to sound stronger than he felt. "At least— At least she'll be happy!" 

Despite himself, Hefty occupied the third chair, sobbing harder than either of his companions.

After a long moment, Theodore and Smurfette ended their embrace. Theodore looked uncertainly into her too-blue eyes.

"So, what do you say," he asked softly. "Would you...well...would you like to marry me?" 

He wasn't quite sure how he wanted her to answer. He'd never truly considered marrying her before. But then, she'd always been blue and barely a foot high before.

"Oh, Theodore," said Smurfette, wiping her streaming eyes with her hands. "You are smurfy, but...but..." 

She smiled slowly, suddenly realizing that she had made her decision. And, to her relief, she was very happy with it. 

"I'm a Smurf," she said with conviction. "I belong with them, in Smurf Village. I hope you can understand."

To his surprise, Theodore felt happy too. Even, a little relieved. 

"I do understand." He smiled. "I really do! The Smurfs need you far more than I do." 

He sighed, saddened for a moment. 

"I do wish I could fall in love with someone like you, someone as brave and smart, funny and honest. But, even if I never do, I will still be happy just to know that you're my friend."

Smurfette hugged him again. 

"Oh, Theo! I was right! You are the smurfiest human in the world!"

Brainy looked up from his hands and quickly replaced his glasses. 

"Did my ears just smurf what I thought they did?" he asked, his voice betraying his joy. "Smurfette's decided to stay with us?"

Hefty and Clumsy looked up as well, wiping their eyes on their sleeves.

"She has!" they exclaimed happily. 

Smurfette nodded with an enormous smile.

"Three cheers for Smurfette," Hefty shouted. "A true, blue Smurf! Hip hip!"

"Hooray," cried Brainy and Clumsy. 

Theodore grinned.

"Hip hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip hip!"

"Hooray!"

"And, please, Smurfette," Hefty added with a gleam in his eye. "The next time you decide to go and fall in love with a human, please, don't ask Gourdy to help!"

"Oh, I don't think you have to worry, Hefty," Smurfette said, grinning. "No human could ever be smurfier than my good friend, Theodore!"

To Be Concluded...


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it. The end of the story. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy this last part! :D

Chapter Nine

The sun had just started to consider setting when the Smurfs were finally able to set out for home. Prince Theodore's people had taken the surprising truth about Xolynda rather well, all things considered. They were disappointed their Prince wouldn't be getting married, but after many years experience with Morlock's devious plots, it was easy to believe his sister would want to try the same thing. They were relieved Theodore had made such a lucky escape, and they cheered the four disguised Smurfs like heroes. 

The great feast, originally meant for the royal wedding, was used instead as a celebration banquet in honor of the four young people who had saved their beloved prince and their kingdom from the wicked Xolynda. The Smurfs had never felt so stuffed, or so admired.

When it was all over and the bodies of Morlock, Xolynda, and her pet snake had been properly disposed of and the unfortunate guard's body had been returned to his family along with the decorations of a national hero, the Smurfs bid their farewells to their friend Theodore.

"Thank you all again," called the prince as they crossed the drawbridge and set a course for their Village. "You're welcome back here any time, of course!"

"Oh, we'll be back," smiled Smurfette. "You can smurf on it!"

*******

The Smurfs walked through the fading daylight, quickening their pace as evening changed into night. They had to make it home before midnight, otherwise— 

They didn't want to think about the otherwise.

It was perhaps ten o'clock when the Smurfs reached the large clearing where Gargamel had his hovel. To their surprise, they could see Gargamel out and about, followed closely by his scrawny cat, Azrael.

"Let's go see what he's smurfing," whispered Hefty. "He'll never recognize us like this! It'll be fun!"

"Well, all right," said Brainy. "But remember Hefty, we've got to be back before midnight, and that can't be too far off now."

"Oh, I will! Come on!"

Gargamel had strapped himself to a very strange looking contraption. As the disguised Smurfs approached, Gargamel was in the middle of explaining the odd device to his cat.

"...and this lever here is the ignition, Azrael," he cackled. "When I pull it, thusly," gave the lever a sharp tug, "The rocket boosters should ignite, flying me straight to the Smurf's village!"

Azrael seemed singularly unconvinced. When the strange device started sputtering and shuddering, he leapt away and climbed up a tree to safety.

As the Smurfs watched, the underside of the contraption burst into flames. 

Gargamel let out a triumphant shout as he shot into the air.

"Oh, my smurfness!" Smurfette exclaimed.

"I think he might have really done it this time," said Hefty apprehensively.

The Smurfs watched his progress a few moments more. 

As Gargamel flew higher and higher, Brainy's face cracked into a superior smirk.

"He's never going to make it to our village," he said confidently. "Just watch. In a few moments those flimsy rocket boosters will smurf out. Then, he'll fall right back to the ground."

"Gosh!" Clumsy exclaimed. "How do you know that, Brainy?"

"Because I read Papa Smurf's book on smurfodynamics a few days ago," the spectacled Smurf informed him. 

He watched in satisfaction as the glowing embers that showed up Gargamel in the night sky sputtered, then failed, causing him to fall screaming back to earth. 

"Gargamel obviously hasn't," he said, smirking as the failed wizard splashed noisily into the murky pond at the front of his hovel. 

The disguised Smurfs could hear his curses from where they stood. Unable to help themselves, they burst out laughing.

"What's that?" called the miserable wizard, "Who's there?"

Hefty laughed.

"Gee, Gargamel, it looks to me like you need to work harder on your landings," he said, running over to the bank of the scummy pond. The others soon caught up with him and helped pull the slime and mud-coated wizard from the pond. 

If Gargamel was the least bit grateful, he didn't show it.

"Just who do you think you are, trespassing over my land in the middle of the night?" He wiped a particularly slimy clump of mud from his long nose. "And how do you rotten kids know my name?"

The Smurfs stared at the scrawny, bent, balding wizard that had terrified their village for so long. He really wasn't all that tall. He didn't seem nearly as frightening or impressive when viewed from a human's point of view. 

That's when Hefty thought of a really good trick he could play on their old enemy.

"Say, Gargamel," he said, nudging the others to get them to go along with him. "You're that wizard who's always on the look out for Smurfs, aren't you?"

"So?" the bent little man snapped. "What of it?"

"Well," Hefty said slyly. "We know where their village is."

"What!" Gargamel exclaimed. "Tell me where it is, you stinking little son of a farmer! Tell me, or else I'll—"

"Temper, temper, Gargamel," Brainy interrupted. "We'll tell you, but you have to be polite."

"Ooorph!" Gargamel growled, clenching his fists. "All right. Will you four kind, lovely young people please tell me where I can find the village of those wretched Smurfs!"

Clumsy chuckled. 

"Yeah, that's more like it, Gargamel," he said.

"Well..." Hefty drawled. "All right. Since you asked so nicely." 

He took Gargamel by the muck-moistened shoulder and pointed in the exact opposite direction of the actual village. 

"It's down there a short ways. When you get to a large birch tree, turn left. The entrance to the village is through a rotten tree stump at the edge of a small clearing not far from there."

"You can't be serious!" Gargamel exclaimed. "Whenever the Smurfs have run away, they've always gone in the exact opposite direction!"

"Well, Gargamel," said Brainy in his best lecturing voice. "Just how dumb do you think Smurfs are? Of course they run in that direction! It's to throw you off the scent so you'll never find their actual village. I can just imagine how they'll laugh when they think of you searching for them tirelessly day after day at entirely the wrong end of the forest!"

The four Smurfs laughed. It really was a wonderful thought.

Gargamel was beside himself. 

"I don't believe I've been so stupid!" he exclaimed. "Isn't it just like those rotten Smurfs to trick me in this way! But, I'll get them! They can't hide from me forever! By this time tomorrow, I'll be having Smurf stew for supper!"

The Smurfs left Gargamel still cackling to himself.

"That was brilliant, Hefty, if I do say so myself," Brainy said.

"Um, Hefty," asked Smurfette, "just what is in that rotten stump at the edge of the clearing?"

Hefty chuckled. 

"A wasp's nest," he said. "Nat found it a few days ago on one of his nature walks."

The thought of Gargamel being chased by an angry swarm of wasps was enough to keep the Smurfs laughing all the way to the village.

*******

"Wow," Smurfette sighed as they stood at the edge of their village, admiring the way the tiny mushroom houses caught the glow of the moonlight. "Our mushroom houses really do look convincing from up here, don't they? No wonder Gargamel can never find us!"

"Shhh," Brainy hissed. "We don't want to wake up anysmurf. Only Papa Smurf, Farmer, and us know about your wish, Smurfette. If the others wake up, they'll be scared out of their smurf to see four humans wandering about! Quick, let's make our way around the village to Farmer's fields. And remember, be quiet!"

When they got to Farmer's melon patch, they were greeted by a very loud, very frightened yell.

"Aaagghh! Papa Smurf! There are four great humans smurfin' this way!"

The four disguised Smurfs shared a grin, recognizing Farmer's voice.

"Calm down, Farmer!" came another welcome voice. "They can only be Brainy, Hefty, and Clumsy. Four, you say? Why, that must mean they've found Smurfette! Oh, thank smurfness!"

"Papa Smurf!" the four enchanted Smurfs exclaimed happily. 

The tiny, red-suited Smurf with the fluffy white beard smiled up at them from the melon patch.

"Hello, my little Smurfs!" he called up at them. "You're just in time!"

The four of them sat down as carefully as they could, not wanting to squash any of Farmer's prized melons.

"Here's Gourdy's gourd, Smurfette," said Papa Smurf, holding the tiny vegetable up to her. "All you have to do to regain your own smurfy form is to rub it gently and say 'I wish to be a Smurf again.'"

Smurfette took the gourd gently from Papa Smurf's outstretched arms. It was barely the length of her palm. 

Beside her, Brainy sighed.

"You know, now that this is all almost over, there's only one thing that still bothers me."

"What's that, Brainy?" asked Papa Smurf, recognizing him at once because of his glasses.

"Well, I know this may sound silly, Papa Smurf," he said, "but I did want to see what I looked like as a human before I get smurfed back into a Smurf. It's been more than a day, and the only mirror we smurfed across was enchanted so it would only show the truth!"

Papa Smurf chuckled. 

"I don't think that's so silly, Brainy," he said. "In fact, it's quite natural. We've got about half an hour yet. I could run to the village and smurf you one of Vanity's mirrors."

"Wait, Papa Smurf," said Smurfette. "I've got a smurfy mirror right here. And, it's just our size, too." 

She pulled out the intricately carved silver mirror she'd used to daze Xolynda's evil pet snake and handed it to Brainy. 

"I completely forgot about this until just now," she said. "I thought you might want to use it."

"Here, Brainy," said Farmer, holding up a little lantern. "You can use my firefly lantern."

"Thanks, Farmer," said Brainy, carefully taking it.

"Oh my smurfness!" he exclaimed, lowering the mirror to his lap and reaching up to touch his hair. "My hair really is red, isn't it!"

"Let me see, Brainy," said Hefty. 

Brainy handed him the mirror and the lantern, then asked: "Papa Smurf, what's going to happen to that mirror once we've smurfed back to our normal size?"

"Oh, can you shrink it, Papa Smurf?" asked Smurfette. "It was a present from a very nice girl I met at Theodore's castle. And, it is ever so smurfy."

Papa Smurf looked thoughtfully at the mirror, which was now in Clumsy's uncertain hands. 

"Hmmm," he said. "I'll see what I can do in the morning. I'm sure I could work out a smurfy shrinking spell for you."

"Oh, thank you, Papa Smurf," Smurfette said, and grined.

"May I assist you, Papa Smurf?" Brainy asked eagerly.

"Well, I think that would be all right."

"Thank you, Papa Smurf!" Brainy exclaimed, his eyes shining behind his glasses.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Hefty, reaching into the pocket of his peasant shirt and pulling out the certificate and medal Prince Theodore had given him. 

Brainy and Clumsy pulled theirs out as well. 

"Prince Theodore gave these to Brainy, Clumsy, and me back when he thought we were humans," Hefty said. "Do you think you could shrink them too, Papa Smurf?"

The three Smurfs placed their awards on the ground. 

Papa Smurf laughed when he saw the names. 

"Harold, Brian, and Clement Smith," he chuckled. "That's very clever, my little Smurfs. Yes, I believe I can shrink these down for you. They should be very smurfy momentos of your adventure."

Taking her mirror back from Clumsy and laying it carefully on the ground beside their awards, Smurfette finally rubbed Gourdy's gourd. 

The tiny genie appeared in a puff of pinkish smoke, stretching and yawning and dressed in his nightclothes.

"Oh, my!" he exclaimed when he realized he was sitting on the outstretched palm of a human girl. "Who in the world are you?"

Papa Smurf called up to him. 

"That's Smurfette, Gourdy. She has a wish to ask of you."

Gourdy beamed. 

"Well then, ask away! That's what I'm here for!"

Smurfette nodded. 

"All right," she said, and took a bracing breath. "Gourdy, I wish to be a Smurf again."

"Can do, Smurfette," the tiny genie said, grinning. "You're just in time!"

He raised his thin little arms and wiggled his fingers. 

"Cadoda, casaba," he intoned cheerfully. 

A bright flash emitted from his fingertips, completely enveloping Smurfette. 

Gourdy grabbed his gourd and jumped to the ground a split second before the flash around Smurfette shrank down to Smurf size. 

When it faded, Smurfette stood before them, her old smurfy self again, blinking in the moonlight.

"Oh, Papa Smurf," she cried, rushing to him and enveloping him in a hearty embrace. "I'll never make such an unsmurfy wish ever again! Never, never, never!"

"It's very smurfy to hear you say that, Smurfette," said Papa Smurf with a warm smile. "I trust you've learned your lesson?"

"Oh, yes, Papa Smurf! And, I just can't wait to tell you all about our adventures at Theodore's castle!"

"And I can't wait to see my tail again," said Brainy, rather bitterly. "Papa Smurf, how much longer will it take before we get smurfed back into Smurfs? I'm tired of being a human."

"Not long, Brainy," Papa Smurf told him. "I'd say the spell will be wearing off right about—"

There was a loud popping sound and suddenly, three blinking Smurfs were standing where the three young humans had been.

"—now!" he finished.

Checking themselves over carefully, just to be sure they really were back to normal, the three Smurfs let out a delighted cheer.

"It's wonderful to have you all back home safely, my little Smurfs," said Papa Smurf warmly.

"It's wonderful to be back, Papa Smurf," Brainy said. "You won't believe all we've smurfed through in the past two days. All I can say is, it's good to be back to my old, smurfy self again."

"You said it," said Hefty, flexing his muscles. 

Clumsy nodded vigorously.

"Well, if I'm not needed anymore," said Gourdy with a yawn, "I think I'll go back to bed. Casaba, cadoda!" 

The little genie vanished instantly in a puff of pinkish smoke.

Farmer stifled his own yawn. 

"I'd say it's about time for me to turn in as well," he said sleepily. "Good night, everysmurf. Nice to have you all back with us."

"Good night, Farmer," the remaining Smurfs chorused.

"Come along now, my little Smurfs," Papa Smurf said once Farmer's door had closed. "You can tell me all about your adventures on the way back to the village. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Greedy baked a batch of smurfberry cookies this evening before he went to bed. You four look like you're in need of a treat after all you've been through. I'm sure Greedy won't miss four or five."

"Hooray!" the Smurfs cheered.

Turning their backs on the melon patch where Smurfette's silver mirror still lay gleaming in the moonlight beside Hefty, Brainy, and Clumsy's citations, Farmer's melons, and Gourdy's gourd, the small group of Smurfs headed cheerfully back to their cozy village, laughing and chattering all the way.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you like my story? Please Review! :D


End file.
